Light the Night 5k will illuminate the Elmer Gray Stadium at 8 p.m. Nov. 1.

Light the Night is a walk or run 5k hosted by the Forward LENE track club. Participants will receive a 5k T-shirt and glow sticks.

Kelti Rippenhagen, senior nursing major from Austin, is the founder and president of the women’s running club Forward LENE.

“We invite everyone to join. You don’t have to run the whole thing. You can walk it if you’d like. It is just a fun way for everyone to come together and get active,” Rippenhagen said.

The 5k welcomes runners of all levels with two different sections: a competitive race and a recreational run. The competitive runners will contend for the top two men and women runners. The winners will receive gift cards to local hot spots near campus.

Light the Night is a fundraiser for the Forward LENE track club to raise money for uniforms and fund team entries to marathons.

“We have the funds SA gave us to get started and thought a 5k would be a perfect way to raise money and get the word out about our club,” Rippenhagen said.

Forward LENE meets weekly for the runners to encourage each other in exercise and join together to build community.

“Forward LENE Track Club invites the ladies of ACU to start off the day with exercise and fellowship. We run, jog, walk and enjoy each other’s company,” said Rippenhagen. “We encourage one another to grow physically, spiritually and emotionally through the friendships we form with our teammates.”

Rippenhagen saw the need for the group on campus while training for a half marathon last semester. She said she did not want to train alone and realized there was a necessity for a group to meet this need on campus.

“As a young woman, it isn’t always safe to run through neighborhoods by myself. I needed to find a group who was willing to train with me,” Rippenhagan said.

The club has 30 current members and meets weekly to train together and have fun.

Forward LENE invites anyone interested in joining to contact them at kdr09a@acu.edu.

“Those who run together have fun together,” Rippenhagen said.