For the second year in a row, members of the William Peace University and greater Raleigh communities came together for the Peace Pacers 5K. The 2026 event, held on March 28, was significantly larger than in 2025, with more than double the number of racers participating.
This year’s race was organized by Kristin Koch, director of student involvement. She said the event supports multiple goals, including increasing Peace’s visibility, raising funds for the Peace Cares Fund, and connecting with the community outside of campus.
“We have so many people who live near us, and this is a great way to showcase our campus to people who are nearby,” said Koch. “We want people to know we’re here, right downtown, and show off our campus and our location. Hosting community events like this is a great opportunity to use our beautiful space.”
This year, runners’ ages ranged from 10 to 71 years old. Koch took steps to make it even more affordable for students, lowering the cost of registration from $15 to $10. Race organizers also offered a kid’s price and Koch observed there were more young runners as a result.
Koch has managed similar events for other institutions. She said she considers this a building year and sees possibilities to grow the route and run through more of downtown to show off Peace’s proximity.
A Community-Driven Effort
Putting on an event like the Peace Pacer 5K requires many helping hands. Volunteers included students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
Among the alumni volunteers were the events’ founders. Kayleigh Griffith ’25 and Aryal Brandon ’25 were responsible for starting the event last year, under the auspices of the newly-formed Exercise and Sport Science Club, along with their former roommate Cora Rebert ’25. All felt proud seeing how it has grown in just one year.
“Seeing it double in size makes me feel in awe that we were able to start it just last year. It was stressful, but it makes me feel proud that we did it in the first place,” said Griffith.
Brandon agreed, saying the growth shows off the amazing community that is Peace. “That was the whole point, to bring our community together.”
Brandon was quick to point out that Koch’s support was critical to the race’s success. “There’s no way this would have happened without her help,” she said.
Elizabeth Rowland ’05 serves on the Peace Alumni Board of Directors and was on hand to help check in runners.
“For me, it’s all about giving back to the community that helped me start my career,” said Rowland. “I love Peace — where we were and what we’ve grown to be.”
Rowland said the race is a great way to encourage people to develop healthy habits, observing that she wasn’t as healthy in college but now runs to help maintain her physical and mental health. As an alum, she was excited to see neighbors on campus, because it reminded her of her own college experience.
“When I was here, the neighborhood was part of who we were. We always had big festivals on the Main Lawn,” she said. “This is a way to welcome the Raleigh community to our campus and tell people we’re here and we’re thriving.”
Students were among the runners and had varied reasons for participating.
“I’m a swimmer now but my first sport was cross country running. I’ve always loved running and last year when my friends started the race I thought it was a good opportunity to get back into it,” said Ruben Garcia ’27.
Sophie Peterson ’28 was the top female finisher. A cross country runner for Peace, she felt good about her race, saying she improved over last year, but enjoyed seeing all of the energy on campus.
“It’s a good event and brings community members to Peace,” she said. “I’ll definitely be back next year.”
