BLACKSBURG, Va. – Nearly two decades after the Virginia Tech campus shooting, students, faculty and community members are continuing a tradition on campus.
Everyone gathered for the annual Run in Remembrance, a 3.2-mile run meant to honor the 32 people killed on April 16, 2007.
Organizers and participants say the event is designed to keep the focus on the people who were lost — and on the community’s ongoing commitment to healing.
Nineteen years after the shooting, participants said the day is about remembering classmates, professors, friends and family members — and ensuring tragedy does not define the university.
The victims ranged in age from 18 to 76 and represented “a variety of academic areas and faith and ethnic groups,” according to the event’s remembrance message.
For some students, the run is also about safety and prevention.
“It’s a prominent issue and to keep others safe,” said Gabrielle DeJoseph, a student at Virginia Tech. “Doing runs like this really keeps what happened in mind and prevents things like this from happening in the future.”
Others said the event is a way to connect across generations of Hokies.
“It’s just a great way to contribute to everybody that was here before us and here with us right now, and sharing memories with them,” said Jimmy Lin, a student at Virginia Tech.
Participants said the run offers a tangible way to show support for the families who continue to grieve.
“Those families went through a lot so I think it’s only right that we show them the respect,” said Kevin Kiernan, a student at Virginia Tech. “This is an awesome way for the community to come together.”
The stated goal of the event is to center victims’ stories on campus — not the violence that took them.
Virginia Tech’s remembrance message encourages the community to reflect on “the tremendous promise each of them embodied for our world with creativity, intelligence, humility, and humanity.”