Event benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia
Forrest Gump just felt like running — around Columbia, that is.
With his full beard, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. hat and Nike running shoes, an anonymous man dressed as the icon from the 1994 hit film ran alongside hordes of bow tie-wearing runners Saturday morning.
The third annual Bow Tie Run, in which participants donned bow ties and running shoes for a jaunt around Columbia, honored late USC president and notable bow tie-wearer Andrew Sorensen. The annual run began after he died in 2011 at the age of 72.
In his lifetime, Sorenson was an active member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, and proceeds from the race were donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia.
Davontae Singleton, the president and founder of the Big Brothers Big Sisters club at USC, was optimistic about the turnout of the race, despite the lower registration numbers.
“Last year, we had over 200 runners at the end of the race,” Singleton said.
Since registration is open the morning of the race, many runners tend to register in the minutes before the starting pistol, he said.
“We’re just really excited to have them out here,” Singleton said.
Singleton said his own “little brother,” Nate, has taught him far more than he had expected, describing his as “adorable” and “the sweetest child in the world.”
“We’re supposed to go see them once a week, but I kind of see him more than once a week,” Singleton said. “I’m always like ‘Nate, do you want to hang out?’ and he’s like ‘Of course!’”
Student Government recently adopted the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as their official philanthropy, according to Student Body Vice President Ryan Bailey. Members of the student senate wore neon yellow T-shirts and cheered on runners at the finish line.
“Senate’s involvement in Big Brothers Big Sisters is not to be a big brother,” Bailey said. “Our job is to find people in the community who do great things and recruit them to be big brothers and big sisters.”
Cocky made an appearance at the race, sporting a blue bow tie as he posed for pictures with runners and students alike, including Forrest Gump, whose sister, Tina Cundari, served as Chair of the Big Brothers Big Sisters board. According to Cundari, her disguised brother came from his home in Charleston to run the race alongside her.
First-year computer engineering student Wesley Long finished the race in first place, with a time of 19:11. Long said that he decided to come out because he had not run a race in about a month and he plans to run the Parents’ Weekend 5K in a few weeks.
According to Long, runners were being directed by a police car for a portion of the race. However, when the police car came to a stop, runners were unsure about the route.
“I think it messed up the girl ahead of me more than me,” he said. “It just felt good to get the race over with. After that hill, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.”