2026 KU Vets Day 5K

The annual KU Vets Day 5K, hosted by the KU Student Veterans of America and the Veterans Alumni Network, honors our past/present veterans and raises awareness of the roles veterans play in our university and community. The 5K usually begins and ends at Memorial Stadium, traveling through the KU campus past KU’s war memorials.  This start and end of the race will be at the Jayhawk Welcome Center.  It is hosted by KU Alumni, Veterans Alumni Network and the Lt. Gen. William K. Jones Military-Affiliated Student Center.

A finisher's medal will be given to participants, regardless of your finish time. 

Note: If we get close to running out of medals, we will update this page. 

Participants receive a t-shirt while supplies last. Oct. 20 is the last day to guarantee shirt sizes.

If you do not see your shirt size available, it means we have run out of that size.

Participants can pick up their packets, which include the race bib with timing chip and t-shirt, at the following times/locations:

Friday, Nov. 7
Noon-5 p.m.
345 Summerfield Hall (1300 Sunnyside Avenue), Lawrence

Saturday, Nov. 8
Noon-5 p.m.
Ad Astra Running Company, 835 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence

Sunday, Nov. 9
7:30-8:30 a.m.
(race site) Jayhawk Welcome Center (1266 Oread Ave., Lawerence, KS 66044)

You may pick up packets for friends/family, but please be sure to coordinate with them so everyone knows who's picking up what!

Free parking options:

Spencer Museum of Art lot 91, 1301 Miss. St. 
Memorial Stadium lots 92, 94, 1101 Miss. St.
Available street parking along Miss. St. 

Paid Parking will be available in the Mississippi/Union Parking Garage just north of the Kansas Union.  

OREAD AVENUE WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DURATION OF THE EVENT*

Please enter the parking garage via Mississippi Street, as that will be the only entrance and exit point. 

DOWNLOAD THE PARKING APP HERE

Use a mobile app to conveniently pay for parking in yellow lots, parking garages, and at long-term meters in select parking lots. Look for a Parking.com sign with a zone number. When paying with a mobile app, enter the zone number posted on the sign and your license plate information.

Mobile pay allows you to add time remotely by phone instead of having to return to the lot to manually pay for more time. You can also choose to receive text message alerts when your time is about to expire

The hourly cost is $2.25 for the first hour and $2.00 for each additional hour. These rates do not include the per-transaction fee charged by app provider. The transaction fee is displayed during the check out process before payment is finalized.

Payment made via parking app is non-refundable.

First and second place finishers, by gender, will have the option to pick up awards immediately following the 5K. Age groups are broken down by:

• Overall
• Overall master's
• Age groups in 5-year increments except ages 1-10 and 80+