Event Description
Runners and Walkers:
Join us to Run Against Racism!
A virtual event kicking off the weekend of July 18-19, 2020 and going through August 2nd.
• Follow the route through Utica
• Stop and read temporary historical markers along the way to learn more about our black community
• Talk about or reflect racism and how you can help combat it as you walk/run
• Post photos and thoughts to our UR Run Against Racism event page
DOWNLOAD THE VISUAL MAP OF THE COURSE
DOWNLOAD TURN-BY-TURN INSTRUCTIONS
Education, relationship building, openness and exploration of the communities around us can lead to understanding and to combat racism. The Utica Roadrunners have created a route throughout the heart of Utica for members and friends to run/walk at their leisure as a way to jointly take a stand against racism and injustice. Along the route, participants will learn about different places, people and events that celebrate the rich history and contributions of Utica’s black community through temporary historic signage that will remain up for the month of July.
Participants will be able to utilize a visual map and/or turn-by-turn instructions to follow the route, which takes you through parts of Cornhill, the Parkway District, East Utica, the Broad Street Corridor, Historic Bagg’s Square, Downtown and the Oneida Square Arts District. While running/walking, we encourage participants to have meaningful conversations about race or discussions about recent events... or if they prefer, to run/walk solo in personal reflection or listen to a podcast or audiobook. We also hope they take in the beauty of our city as they explore places they may not have noticed or visited before.
While paying homage to our local black community, the route was also created to celebrate the black lives recently lost throughout the country.
We run in remembrance of them:
• The route is approximately 8.5 miles long to honor the life of George Floyd, reflecting the length of time a police officer in Minneapolis had his knee on his neck
• There are 27 stops in total to honor the life of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in Kentucky right before her 27th birthday
• UR encourages people to run the route on Sundays, to honor Ahmaud Arbery who was killed on Sunday, February 23 while running in Georgia
Throughout the duration of the virtual event, participants are encouraged to take and post photos and thoughts on what they have seen and learned along the route to our Facebook event page. People will be chosen at random for prizes that will support both running-related and black-owned businesses.
The event is FREE, but if you are so moved to do so, donations raised will help support those businesses.
