This past Thursday, Oct. 23, Villanova Special Olympics (SpO) hosted its annual Strides 5K Run/Walk. The event was an exciting preview to Fall Fest and rallied wide support from hundreds of students as Special Olympics PA athletes were welcomed to campus to participate.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Corr Hall Chapel marked the start and end of the loop around campus that participants circled three times. A mix of athletes, students and other locals who participated in Strides were cheered on by Special Olympics Local Program Hosts (LPHs) (freshman volunteers responsible for coordinating and leading a team of athletes during Fall Fest weekend),Volunteer Coordinators (VCs) and Committee Members as they made their ways around campus.
Strides is made possible by a collective effort on behalf of everyone involved on SpO Committee, but is primarily organized by the Fundraising Committee, which is led by seniors Isabella Carlin, Claire Murphy, Kat Guzman and junior Sarah Martin Sachtleben.
“We’ve been working on Strides since April,” Fundraising Committee Chair Carlin said. “As for the student-body, Strides was a first glimpse of everyone coming together to cheer and support the athletes leading up to Fall Fest.”
The Fundraising Committee worked in collaboration with SpO’s Special Events Management Team, Medicurity, Food and Long Distance Running Walking (LDRW) committees to make the event come to life.
“The planning process was pretty extensive,” Martin Sachtleben said. “First, we had to just make sure we had all of the necessary spaces reserved. I feel like that was kind of the first thing we did and then it got more detailed like figuring out the food, that the route was ready to go with other committees, and figuring out all of the flyers and forms.”
In relation to the 2025 Fall Fest theme of “Let Your Passions Unleash, Create Your Masterpiece,” the Strides theme was “Let Passion Lead the Way.”
Murphy believes that athletes embody this theme by embracing their unique talents.
“All the athletes come from different backgrounds and play different sports, and I think that they take whatever they’re strong at and create their own adventures, succeeding in their individual strengths,” Murphy said.
Throughout the event, race participants and volunteers got to enjoy food, a live DJ, glow-in-the dark decor and a visit from SoulCycle to campus.
“We coordinated a lot of food for the athletes and student-volunteers to have after the race was over, like pizza from CampCo and pretzel rolls from Villanova Public Safety,” Murphy said.
The race saw high numbers of both athletes and volunteers participating as the countdown to Fall Fest draws closer. The entire race course was lined by student supporters.
“This year we had about 75 athletes compete, one of the higher numbers in recent years, so we were super excited about that,” Carlin said. “Most of these athletes will compete in the long-distance running and walking during Fall Fest, so this provided them an opportunity to visit campus and experience the course they’ll be running in a couple weeks.”
The hard-work and dedication put forth by the Fundraising Committee, amongst many other committees, is fueled by members’ and athletes’ passion alike.
“My most favorite is just seeing how excited the athletes get when they see groups of people cheering for them,” Martin Sachtleben said.
Strides was just a preview of Villanovans’ ability to unite and create such a positive, and inclusive environment. Even on a chilly night, students’ love and support for others warmed up the campus. Fall Fest weekend will, undoubtedly, be filled with the same energy.
