This year’s Kirk Goodwin Run, which is sponsored annually by men’s social club Galaxy, will support a former student who had to medically withdraw from school.

The first run in 1984 raised money to help pay for medical bills for then Galaxy pledge Kirk Goodwin, who died while in a coma after a car accident.

“We’ve been doing it ever since,” said Michael Humphrey, senior accounting major from Abilene. “The t-shirts have Kirk’s name on it; his family still comes to the race to this day, and each year we choose a recipient who’s in kind of a similar circumstance where they have extremely high medical bills, and all the benefits of the race go to them.”

Kaile Norris Williams

This year’s run will benefit Kaile Norris Williams, a woman who had to medically withdraw from the university three years ago due to gastroparesis, a disease that causes an inability of the stomach to process food or water. Since then Humphrey said she had to be put on feeding tubes, IV nutrition and undergo stem cell treatment in Mexico.

“It’s incurable, so they’re running out of options,” Humphrey said. “She’s actually going to be at the race this year, and all of the money is going toward finding a cure, paying for her medical bills in the past, anything we can do to help.”

To register, visit the KGR table in the campus center between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. any day before the run, scan the QR code on one of their flyers around campus, or visit their website, www.thekgr.org. Individual registration costs $30, while registration for a team of two runners costs $50, a team of three costs $70 and a team of four costs $80. Use the registration code “student” for $5 off.

The 5K run will begin and end outside the Hardin Administration building at 9 a.m. on April 21.