by Phoebe Roe

In the spring of 2010, Anna Frutiger ’09 was attending classes at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and training for a marathon. One morning she collapsed, was rushed to the hospital and died hours later of a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT). To remember their sorority sister and raise money to fight the condition that took her life, the sisters of Zeta Alpha Pi (Zetas) hold a 5K run each spring at the Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC).

At this year’s race, held last Saturday, April 20, 29 runners ran a 5K on the BFEC’s trails and afterward enjoyed an outdoor brunch on the BFEC’s picnic tables. Proceeds from a tank top sale, race registrations and donations exceed $2,700 and will go directly to the National Blood Clot Association.

While DVT is commonly associated with people who are overweight or elderly, DVT affects younger people as well. Frutiger’s doctors believe that her DVT may have been caused by her birth control, and most birth-control medications in fact list DVT as a potential side effect.

Maggie Hudson ’16, a Zeta and the coordinator for the event, said, “[Frutiger] was a tennis player at Kenyon, she was really athletic, she was training for a marathon — it took everyone by surprise that someone that young and fit could have a pulmonary embolism.”

The Zetas are still accepting donations for this year’s 5K and plan to hold another 5K next year.