ROTC cadets don costumes for early-morning run
Posted on November 1, 2007
ROTC cadets at JMU were the first people in Halloween costumes yesterday.
Before the sun was even up, 120 cadets gathered at Godwin before 6 a.m., decked out in Halloween costumes for their morning run.
Lieutenant Colonel and professor of military science Rodney Lusher, said the cadets run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. dressed in military issue tops and black sweatpants, but the Halloween run is something everyone looks forward to each year.
“I think [it’s been happening] as long as anyone here can remember,” he said. “[We do it] to do something different, to do something fun.”
Cadet Battallion Commander senior Tim Miller, who dressed as Soulja Boy said he enjoys dressing funny and going for a short run.
“Halloween run is a fun way to just loosen up and enjoy a morning run,” he said.
This year’s Halloween run was the first that the JMU students enrolled in the UVA air force program participated in.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Cadet First Lieutenant senior Keith Spears said. “It’s really nice to meet some of our buddies in army and have a low key military training with them.”
He dressed as his favorite army cadet, Evan Salbego.
“We keep trying to do more with the the army,” Spears said. “It’s a great opportunity to do more and more with them, because when we’re in active duty, we’ll all be serving together.”
Between morning formations and stretching the cadets took time to circle up and share their costumes. The costumes were celebrated with cheering, clapping, laughing and chattering. There was one call of “at ease” when the volume raised.
Miller said he’s seen everything in his four years with ROTC.
“From guys dressing as girls to guys dressing as warriors,” he said.
This year’s costumes included everything from a male cadet dressed as Cinderella, a skier, a sumo wrestler in an inflatable fat suit, Spider-man and a Spartan. While sharing costumes some cadets even put on little skits. Miller sang and performed the dance to Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That.”
On the way outside after stretching one cadet dressed as the “stride of pride,” carrying slacks over his shoulder with a lipstick kiss on his neck teased Lusher about his pharaoh costume.
“Want us to get some cadets to carry you on their shoulders for the run?” he said.
Freshman Mende Jo Wentzel was dressed as Britney Spears, complete with a skin colored swimming cap covering her hair. She found the Halloween run a nice break from the norm.
“It’s great for morale,” she said.
Junior Corey Estep agreed.
“It’s good to mix it up and have some fun,” he said.
Cadet Captain senior Ross Fenswick was dressed as JD from the TV show “Scrubs,” wearing blue hospital scrubs and a black wig.
“I wanted a costume with a long sleeve shirt I could run in,” he said. “And I like to watch Scrubs.”
Cadet Captain senior Meghan Brower took a traditional approach to Halloween costumes wearing a big white sheet with eye-holes over warm sweats as a ghost.
“This is the most relaxed we ever are this early in the morning,” she said.
Brower said she enjoyed seeing everyone’s costumes, but her favorite were two female cadets dressed as Adam and Eve in full body nude suits with leaves covering their privates.
Several other cadets opted for group costume choices. There was a set of dominoes, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, “Pumpkin Pie” with one partner being a pumpkin and the other representing mathematical pie, and Wayne and Garth from “Wayne’s World.”
Cadet Captains seniors Christie Lang and Lauren Cappellano dressed as Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny respectively and performed a quick “I’m hunting wabbits,” “Eh, What’s up Doc,” routine while showing off their costumes.
Lang said the idea came to her while she and Cappellano were in their nursing class.
“We knew we wanted to do something together,” Cappellano said.
Lang was glad that the costumes they chose were warm and easy to run in after seeing some of the more complicated get-ups people wore.
“I like the tradition,” Cappellano said. “We’ve been doing this every year, it’s nice to chill out, run and see what everyone is wearing.”
Lang expects the fun to carry over when the batallion returns to their normal routine.
She said, “Now we’ll have something to make fun of next week.”
The girls woke up at 5 a.m. yesterday to watch Loony Toons on YouTube before the run.
“I felt like a kid again,” Cappellano said.
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