SOCORRO, N.M. – More than 300 New Mexico Tech students, employees, and alumni took part in this morning's ‘M’ Mountain run as part of the annual 49ers Homecoming Celebration.

A few hardy students carried 500-pound bags of marble dust to “paint” the iconic ‘M’ atop the mountain.

Hikers start at an EMRTC staging area at the base of the mountain and hiked 1.7 miles over rough terrain with a rise in elevation of about 2,250 feet.

As is the tradition at NMT for more than 100 years, students are encouraged to carry 50-pound bags of lime to the ‘M.’ One at the top, they dump the marble dust onto the rocks under the supervision of spotters. The top 20 individuals and teams who carried lime earned $50.

Around 200 of the participants made it to the ‘M.’ Plenty of other students were at the top, including volunteers from the NMT Bike Club and the Search and Rescue Club.

Dr. Van Romero and his staff organized the event – with ample assistance from EMRTC and various other staff offices around campus. Tech opened the event officially to community members not otherwise affiliated with Tech. Several dozen took advantage of the opportunity to climb the mountain and take part in the festivities.

Romero, who is a two-time graduate of NMT, said “Painting the ‘M’ is much like going to school at Tech – it’s difficult, but worth the effort.

"Every student should experience this at least once during their career here. It’s a great tradition. It’s part of the DNA of New Mexico Tech.”

The ‘M’ Mountain Run is a signature part of the annual 49ers Homecoming Celebration at NMT. Other highlights of the 2019 event include comedy night, alumni vs. students rugby match, the 49ers parade, live music, heritage mining events, and much more.

– NMT –