He Marched for Us, so We Run for Him!

In support for Congressman John Lewis’ battle against pancreatic cancer, “Five 5Ks in Five Months in Congressional District 5” starts Monday with MLK Drum Run in Piedmont Park.

As we neared the end of 2019, we learned sad news: Congressman John Lewis had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He would spend the new year undergoing treatment for one of the most invasive types of the disease. A man who valiantly fought for most of his life in some of the toughest fights in history for freedom, equality and basic human rights would be literally fighting for his own life in 2020.

As we started the new year, I made a pledge that I would be among those fighting for John Lewis. About two years ago, the APS running club rebranded itself as the John Lewis Freedom Runners in his honor. Over the past couple of weeks, we have come up with plans to do more. Because he marched for us, we would run for him!

A bit of background: An APS running club first began five years ago as we worked our way up to run the East Atlanta Village RunFest. Since then, we have run dozens of races across the district! We hit a running milestone on March 24, 2018, when the newly rebranded John Lewis Freedom Runners completed the inaugural run of the 51-mile Selma to Montgomery Relay Race in a time of 10 hours and 22 minutes.

At that time, we were inspired by John Lewis and the events of Bloody Sunday as we “ran” tribute to the brave marchers who walked that course 54 years earlier for civil rights. We took the tribute to Lewis and fitness to another level when we finally introduced our own run. Staying true to the theme of the 2018 State of the District, we called our race – APS Rocks and Runs.

Leading up to the race this year, we wanted to pay further tribute to the man who has done so much for all of us. We decided we would run a 5K for every month leading up to the next APS Rocks and Runs and, thus, “Five 5Ks in 5 Months in Congressional District 5” was created!

Here’s our race schedule:

January 20 – MLK Drum Run, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA
February 1 – Hearts & Soles 5K, Decatur, GA
March 14 – 2020 Shamrock ‘N Roll Road Race, Junior League of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
April 18 – South Atlanta High School 5K, Atlanta, GA
May 2 – APS Rocks and Runs, Atlanta, GA

Alternate Races:
April 25 – The Sun Run/Walk, College Park, GA
June 13 – Purple Stride, Washington, D.C.

But you don’t have to run to support John Lewis.

Please visit http://gf.me/u/xcdbhj and donate to our campaign to support our beloved American hero and others to help raise awareness and end pancreatic cancer. We encourage you to donate in any increment of 5 that you are able (i.e. $5, $15, $25…$55…$155…$555…$5,555, etc.)! Our goal is $55,555!

All proceeds from your generous gift will go toward well-deserving nonprofits: the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s research and programs, the John Lewis Invictus Academy in Atlanta, and the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University.

You can also purchase a commemorative t-shirt to show your love and appreciation for John Lewis! Order here: https://apparelnow.com/john-lewis-freedom-runners-apparel

Join the runs or join the fight! Do your part so John Lewis and others can outrun cancer.

#goodtrouble #OutpacePancreaticCancer #WageHope #Five5KsIn5monthsInDistrict5

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