Several Southeast students gathered near Academic Hall Wednesday night to participate in an anime-based run that allowed them to express their love for the Japanese style of animation.

Southeast’s Naruto Run consisted of about 12 people and one dog, and took place on the pavement paths surrounding Academic Hall. Once the runners were united and ready to go, they took off. Some runners chose to yell while they ran, which could be heard even when they were on the other side of Academic Hall.

The 220 episodes of the popular anime show, called “Naruto,” that aired between 2002 and 2007 are what inspired the run. “The Naruto Run” is a type of running form used by the characters in the show. The runner goes at full speed, thrusting their arms behind them and allowing their head to be at the front of their running stance.

Part of the inspiration behind Southeast having its own Naruto run came from various other campuses’ participation.

According to the event coordinator sophomore Sarah Duda, someone posted on the Facebook page Complaining at Southeast that the campus needed to have a Naruto Run, and she agreed. She began forming the event just days prior to when it actually occurred. The turnout consisted of about 25 people; some came to run, others came to watch.

“Even though some people weren’t participating, it shows that they were thinking about the run and thinking about us,” Duda said.

One participant decided to do the run in a Spider-Man suit. Junior Joseph Taylor said he thought of the run as a “camaraderie” of sorts, and had a reason behind wearing the suit.

“I wore the Spider-Man suit because the run itself had kind of a silly premise as is, so I figured I’d go big or go home,” he said. “I wanted to make a silly thing even sillier.”

Senior Derez Diltz participated in the run and explained why the event was important for the sake of many student’s self-expression.

“If we did something like this in high school, nobody would come, but in college we can express ourselves without receiving judgement,” Diltz said.

Junior Rebecca Hurt and her dog Ozzy were both very happy and willing to do the run. Hurt said her friend arrived at her apartment and told her to “get in the car and bring your ‘Naruto’ headband.” Hurt ended up participating in the run because “Ozzy wanted to run with everyone,” she said.

“I think a lot of people are afraid to show how nerdy or geeky they are, and I think this is a good event to show people that it’s OK to have a good time and to relax,” she said. “You can show what you love and not be afraid of people’s judgement.”