Groups across Maryland support Diane Geppi-Aikens 5K run
Brianna Berg
Issue date: 9/22/09 Section: News
On September 19th, 2009, the 7th annual Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial 5K Run and 1-mile fun run was held in honor of Diane Geppi-Aikens, the late Loyola women's lacrosse coach.
The run normally attracts approximately five hundred to six hundred participants from the Loyola community and runners from surrounding areas as well, including: the Towson women's lacrosse team, the University of Maryland women's lacrosse team, and the Goucher women's lacrosse team.
The race is a 5K run through the beautiful Guilford neighborhood of Baltimore, starting and ending at Loyola's campus. Teams and individual runners compete in order to raise money for the Aikens children's Trust fund.
The fund was set up so that her four children would be able to continue their education.
Diane Geppi-Aikens was the women's lacrosse coach at Loyola before she passed away in 2003 after battling brain cancer. The coach of the Greyhounds since 1989, Aikens originally started out her career at Loyola as a volleyball and lacrosse player.
In her last season coaching Loyola, Aikens persevered through the pain from her brain stem tumor. She coached from a wheelchair while being partially paralyzed on the left side of her body. That season was one of the best season's Loyola women's lacrosse has ever had, finishing the season with a 17-2 record.
Teddi Burns, Associate Director of Athletics here at Loyola, and long time friend of Aikens, participated in the race this past weekend. According to Burns, so many people from the Loyola community run "to be a part of something unique."
"I've been told that many memorial runs like this don't last very long. I think it's a testament to Diane and how she touched and inspired others," Burns said. Even people who never had the opportunity to meet Aikens can appreciate the passion and strength that flowed through her body every day that she was alive.
The run is a longtime standing tradition here at Loyola and will continue for years to come. While the day is filled with so much joy and laughter it is also a somber event, remembering one of Loyola's greatest late heroes.
The run normally attracts approximately five hundred to six hundred participants from the Loyola community and runners from surrounding areas as well, including: the Towson women's lacrosse team, the University of Maryland women's lacrosse team, and the Goucher women's lacrosse team.
The race is a 5K run through the beautiful Guilford neighborhood of Baltimore, starting and ending at Loyola's campus. Teams and individual runners compete in order to raise money for the Aikens children's Trust fund.
The fund was set up so that her four children would be able to continue their education.
Diane Geppi-Aikens was the women's lacrosse coach at Loyola before she passed away in 2003 after battling brain cancer. The coach of the Greyhounds since 1989, Aikens originally started out her career at Loyola as a volleyball and lacrosse player.
In her last season coaching Loyola, Aikens persevered through the pain from her brain stem tumor. She coached from a wheelchair while being partially paralyzed on the left side of her body. That season was one of the best season's Loyola women's lacrosse has ever had, finishing the season with a 17-2 record.
Teddi Burns, Associate Director of Athletics here at Loyola, and long time friend of Aikens, participated in the race this past weekend. According to Burns, so many people from the Loyola community run "to be a part of something unique."
"I've been told that many memorial runs like this don't last very long. I think it's a testament to Diane and how she touched and inspired others," Burns said. Even people who never had the opportunity to meet Aikens can appreciate the passion and strength that flowed through her body every day that she was alive.
The run is a longtime standing tradition here at Loyola and will continue for years to come. While the day is filled with so much joy and laughter it is also a somber event, remembering one of Loyola's greatest late heroes.
Be the first to comment on this story