Bedlam Run Helps Raise Money For OU, OSU Scholarships

More than 1,000 people turned out for the seventh annual Bedlam Run on Saturday morning, with a few more OSU fans participating than OU fans.

But runners set aside the rivalry to help raise scholarship money for future students.

Bright orange and crimson might clash on any other day, but at the Bedlam Run on Saturday, the colors motivated the athletes.

"I just really wanna crush OU sometimes, so I think of OU so I just keep running faster and work harder," Grace Boyle said.

Boyle is 10, and she already is planning to go to OSU one day. She also knows what she was to be when she grows up. “An engineer, like my dad,” she said.

Her registration money will go toward scholarship funds for incoming freshmen at OU and OSU who are from the Tulsa area.

But since college is a few years away,  she's focused on her running goals right now.

“It's really challenging because you have to get past other people,” Boyle said. “And I got past a ton of OU fans and OSU and I was really proud of myself for that."

While there might have been more orange out there than crimson, the scholarship money will be split evenly between OU and OSU students.

“I think it's incredible that they have fundraisers like this,” Lacie Roberts said. “It just supports that in-state spirit."

OU grad Roberts ran with her son Carson, who wishes more Sooners showed up.

“I was feeling outnumbered,” Carson Hendrix said. “Hopefully one day, next year we'll get more OU fans.”

Those brave enough to support both teams may have helped keep the peace on the race course.

"Everybody was supportive,” Roberts said. “We were cheering each other on as we were passing, so it was a friendly run."

Friendly for now, but football season isn't far away.