The Lauren McCluskey Foundation will be holding its annual Race for Campus Safety at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4.
The event is dedicated to raising awareness around relationship violence and stalking. On Friday and Saturday, free SASS GO self-defense classes will be available for women and girls in Moscow and Pullman. Moscow’s class will be held at the University of Idaho’s ISUB building on Oct. 3, from 4-6 p.m., and Pullman’s class will be held at the Residence Inn Marriott on Oct. 4, from 1-5:30 p.m.
The race has multiple levels of participation: a kid’s 1K, or an adult 5K or 10K. A virtual race is also available for those who want to participate remotely. Other activities include inflatable obstacle courses, yard games, educational booths, live entertainment and community resources. Mascots Butch T. Cougar, Joe Vandal and W.T. Bank will all be appearing.
Registration details are available on the foundations website. Tickets are $10 for kids under 12 and virtual racers, $20 for kids over 12, $35 for the 5K and $45 for the 10K. Proceeds are allocated toward funding research, resources and education directed towards improving colleges’ response to relationship violence and stalking. Students may register at a discounted rate using either code ASWSU or ASUI.
The Lauren McCluskey Foundation is a non-profit founded in honor of Lauren Jennifer McCluskey, a Pullman native and University of Utah student-athlete who was murdered by a man she’d briefly dated in 2018. The foundation aims to empower students and their institutions to improve the response toward relationship violence on campus. They provide resources, education and advocacy for campus safety policy change, and spearhead ongoing research towards ways to manage relationship violence on college campuses.
Self-defense classes will be taught by Mesa Weidle, a licensed instructor and U of U track teammate to McCluskey.
Julia Kolman can be reached at [email protected].