Nearly 300 walkers and runners participated in the third annual “Brittany Run” Saturday, a 5K run/walk to remember 21-year-old Brittany Zimmermann, a University of Wisconsin student who was murdered in her apartment on West Doty Street four years ago.
The purpose of the event is to raise money for Madison Area Crime Stoppers, an organization that aims to solve crimes by offering cash rewards up to $1,000 through anonymous and confidential tips.
Tim Caramore, 29, placed first overall with a time of 15:36. Dani Fischer, 22, completed the race in 17:51 and was the first female finisher overall.
Jean Zimmermann, Brittany’s mother, said despite the change in the location of the run due to construction, a few more students participated in the event in comparison to last year. She said she hopes more students will attend the event in the future, not only to honor Brittany but to learn from Brittany’s murder as a way to reinforce the importance of staying safe on campus.
“Students need to be aware of their surroundings,” Zimmermann said. “Students are being attacked, mugged and being completely violated – it needs to stop.”
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the event serves as a reminder to UW students they are not immune to violent crimes on campus. He said the run also reminds the public Brittany’s murderer has not yet been found and may encourage anyone with information to come forward. “
Verveer said Brittany’s murder currently remains under very active investigation, adding detectives work daily to try to solve her case.
Though existing evidence has not been sufficient enough to arrest anyone, Verveer said area police remain focused on bringing the person who murdered Brittany to justice.
Verveer said Brittany’s family and friends raise tremendous safety awareness on the UW campus through her memory, citing examples such as the Brittany Run Saturday, raising money at other campus events and creating a scholarship in her name.
“I know Brittany’s family strongly believes that her memory should live on,” Verveer said. “This event serves as a reminder to all of us.”
Zimmermann said she and her family are already focused on new ways of promoting next year’s run to ensure her message can be spread to as many students as possible.
Zimmermann said one is idea is to team up with various academic institutions around campus, such as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, of which her daughter was a member. Professors could create a contest-like environment between students in different departments within that college, motivating students to competitively participate in the event, she said.
She added a larger reward for completing the run in the fastest time has been brought up as well.
Zimmermann said she would like to thank everyone who participated in the event Saturday. She said she hopes it raised enough awareness to prevent another student attack and added she hopes to see many more student participants in next year’s run.
The reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in Brittany’s murder is currently $40,000, Zimmermann said.
