Amnesty International of Southern California’s

(5th Annual) Run For Freedom

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5K / 10K and 1/2K Children

Human Rights Are Worth Running For

The day we thought we’d never see is upon us! When Darcie first came to our Amnesty International (AI) local group in Irvine, and suggested we organize a 5K/10K race as a fund-raiser, most of us cynical longtime activists though she was crazy. But she didn’t give up, and after preparing for over a year, it actually happened! Everyone was nervous on the morning of June 27th, but it all went according to plan (and not a mad scientist’s deranged plan, but the rational and sensible plan you would expect from AI volunteers.) The event pulled together Amnesty International groups from all over the Southern California area, and we want to encourage active participation from any local group that is willing to contribute their time (and reap the rewards!)

The owners of Jack’s Snack Shop graciously offers the use of their building for hanging up our race banner. They also provide us with electricity and coffee for the volunteers. Thanks again to the owners! (By some clerical oversight, the race banner has a wrong date, but hey, all you have to do is fold the bottom up and no one can even tell!)

While the race volunteers are setting up the registration tables, the other volunteer organizations prepare their booths . The Sierra Club, the Orange County Nigeria Action Coalition (OCNAC) and others are available to inform the athletes on important issues facing us both locally and globally. (In the white hat, showing he’s a good guy, you can see Gordon from OCNAC smiling at the camera.) Following the race OCNAC organizes a demonstration at the Huntington Beach pier to protest the human rights violations endemic in Nigeria.

After a few hours the first competitors start trickling on. Pretty soon the preregistration table and the registration table have a steady stream of runners picking up their race packets and their bib numbers. Many of them seem pleasantly surprised that we also have prizes to hand out to winners of a random drawing. (Several local merchants were willing to donate items for the prizes and the race packets.)

A less pleasant surprise is the fact that our race location has changed, from the Huntington Beach pier to a few blocks down in a beach parking lot. Fortunately Matt, one of our student volunteers, graciously takes up position at the end of the pier to direct confused participants our way.

8:00 is approaching, and the crowd for the 5K run is gathering. Norma has found two bicyclists from UCI, presenting a very professional appearance, to help lead the way and set the pace for the runners. I don’t now if they’re smiling for the picture, or because they know they have a pretty good chance of coming in first! No prize for them though, you have to be on foot to qualify for an medal. The palm trees are proof, in case you needed it, that that we are on the beach in California. If you turn your head left, you can see the ocean less than 100 feet away! With the cool ocean breeze, you don’t even feel like we’re in the middle of summer. The runners are just milling about now, but wait until the pistol goes off. Then you’ll see some action!

And who is in charge of firing that pistol? Local radio station KEZY sends a van with a sound system and also a DJ to help us make our race announcements loud and clear. Having a radio station present at the day of the race proves to be very useful for many reasons aside from the publicity. We are spared the expense of renting a sound system and have a professional to announce the race start and distribute the prizes at the end.
Here is the KEZY volunteer mugging for the camera along with one of our Orange County AI activists, Kevin. (Kevin on left, DJ on right.) They look like they might be brothers, but don’t let the beards fool you. They are not related to the best of our knowledge. Kevin was in charge of the water distribution along the race course, so he was flying along on his trusty mountain bike all day to make sure the competitors were cool and refreshed. We are proud to say that during our first annual race we saw no runners suffering from heat stroke or exhaustion. We did need one Band-Aid, and thankfully Pete (who’s been pushing for a first-aid station) was on hand with his “medical” kit.

All right, I lied. Instead of firing a pistol to mark the beginning of the race, the KEZY DJ sounds an air-horn, which makes a more satisfying racket in my view.

The 5K runners don’t miss their cue, and they are off as soon as they hear the signal. Our photographer, Pete (did I mention that Pete, who you will remember from the notorious Band-Aid incident, took all these pictures?) snaps this shot at great risk of life and limb.

Refreshments? Of course. We don’t want contenders to go away hungry.

Besides water, runners expect some vitamin C to fight off the scurvy that used to be endemic in maritime situations. (We are at the beach after all.) Growers Direct in Costa Mesa very kindly donates oranges, grapefruit and bananas. You might think the oranges would go first, but the bananas prove very popular as well. (Darwin strikes again.) Jean and her granddaughters are in charge of making bite-size portions, and we trust them with our sharpest knives. Cutting an orange or grapefruit into perfect quarters is not as easy as it appears, and our fruit-splicers acquit themselves of their task with honour. (Jean looks like she’s saying “don’t take my picture”, but I think it’s more probable that she’s remonstrating with someone who doesn’t want to eat their grapefruit.)

Since this an Amnesty International event, we of course want someone to address the crowd and explain the work that Amnesty International does internationally (throughout the world), nationally and locally (via local groups.) Rabih, a member of Amnesty International Local Group 96 (Santa Monica, California) and the Iraq Country Coordinator, is our chosen speaker. Do not assume that because he is holding a piece of paper in his hand he is content with reading a prepared text. He is actually quite articulate and a good orator.

Our race T-shirts also serve as a reminder of the urgency of Amnesty International’s cause. Deidre who has designed our T-shirt includes on the back the name of prisoners of conscience (POC’s) whose action files are currently in the hands of local groups in the Orange County and surrounding areas. The shirts say “I am running for the freedom of: Dr. Michael Sa’adey, disappeared in Syria, 1978; Cho Nwe Oo, sentenced to 7 years in prison in Burma; U Soe Myint and San San Htay, arrested in Burma in 1991 without charge or trial; and all other prisoners of conscience throughout the world.” Some of the local groups plan on using the T-shirt to accompany letters written to legislators and government officials concerning the prisoner case.

Of course an event like this is not possible without corporate sponsors. We found it a challenging task to find companies willing to put their name on our event, particularly since this is a first-year event. We have the most success by asking people to contact their own employers. The old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” proves true once again. Our biggest donations come from Kingston Technology and Airtouch. Rhino Records donates a large number of cassettes with children’s songs that we distribute to entrants in the children’s race.
Other local merchants also donate items for our prize drawing: coupons, books (Banres and Noble), waste receptacles, water (from Niagara) and fresh fruit (from Growers Direct in Costa Mesa). We hope to continue the trend next year. Though our initial approach is to ask for a financial contribution, the donations in kind can be extremely valuable. Our hope is to increase the number of corporate sponsors for next year.

In addition to our 5K race, we also have a 10K race. Some of the contestants are brave enough to sign up for both, and run a 10K immediately after running a 5K! They are an inspiration to couch potatoes everywhere. Serious runners count every second, and below you can see our 10K contestants checking their watches before the race.

 

On a more serious note, we want to remind the participants that our race is also commemorating Human Rights work in the Los Angeles area. So we invite local activist Walter Lam from Uganda to talk about his harrowing escape from that country, where he was shot and left for dead, and only escaped by hiding under other corpses. Mr. Lam now lives in San Diego where he has started an organization to help African refugees in the USA. Many of the people there are fascinated by his tale, which falls so far outside the realm of experience of most people in our country. Mr. Lam also mentions in his speech how important the work of Amnesty International is, and we hope that his listeners take that message to heart.

Mr. Lam is also a runner, which makes him the perfect guest for our event. So aside from speaking twice, once after the 5K race and a second time after the 10K race, he also decides to keep in shape by running in our first race. Who says Human Rights work can’t also be fun?
Walter poses after his race with Darcie, a member of the Irvine local group and one of the persons responsible for us undertaking the race mission. Without her enthusiasm, energy and organizational skills none of it would have happened. Kristina, Darcie and Norma (see Kristina and Norma in photo below) spent untold hours making phone calls, arranging for sponsors and speakers, talking to Race Pace, the race timing organization, finding a place for the pre-race packet pickup, and in general making sure that everything happened smoothly on the day of the event. You probably saw them running around like maniacs on race day with a walkie-talkie glued to their heads.

Of course, Darcie had help from the many volunteers she recruited from the greater Los Angeles Area. Some of them graciously posed for a group photograph. In the picture above you will recognize Larry, Tracy, Walter, Dan, Jacques, Rabih, Norma, Darcie, Jean, Ali, Deanna, and some other people whose names I don’t know.
A large contingent of volunteers came from University High school and other schools in the area. Below are fine sample representatives of America’s youth, two of the countless high school students that helped us on race day. Unfortunately we didn’t get an ensemble portrait of all the high school students, but you know who you are. Give yourself a big high-five!

Some of you are probably thinking “there’s no way I could complete a race.” Well if a child can do it, so can you! Notice this finisher of our children’s race. She hasn’t even broken a sweat. All of our children participants received a prize, thanks to Norma. She convinced Rhino Records (a hip record company in Santa Monica) to donate cassettes with kid songs to hand out to our younger challengers. Lest you think that’s the only reason the young sprinters signed up, we gave them their prize before they ran the event, and they still gladly sprinted the whole way.

One of our goals for next year is to increase the number of juveniles taking part in our children’s race. Events seem more festive when there are a large number of youngsters around, and a tiny tot’s excitement usually brings a smile to everyone’s face (you would have to be a hardened curmudgeon indeed to not be thrilled by the sight of these baby athletes scampering over the finish line.)

Of course, a race wouldn’t be a race without awards. For timing the race we hire a professional company, Race Pace, who was also instrumental in providing us guidance for our first annual event. The top three contestants in each age group received a medal (the traditional gold, silver, bronze) and we also had a plaque for the top finisher in each race (5K and 10K). Some of the challengers show enough stamina to get medals and plaques in both races!

But not only the runners are recognized for their achievements. Darcie, amongst all her tasks, still found time to have certificates made and signed by AIUSA’s executive director, William Schultz, and the Western Regional Office director, Joe Baker. Kristina, Jacques and Norma proudly hold up their documents.

Kristina, Norma and Darcie were the main people on our race committee. They all put in a tremendous number of (unpaid) hours to make this event happen. Kristina had the arduous task of arranging all the permits for our event, was in charge of the treasury, contacted sponsors, and did a hundred other things that would be too long to list. Norma was in charge of our public service announcements and was instrumental in finding speakers, enlisting help from AI volunteers throughout the Los Angeles Area, getting donations and many other tasks too numerous to mention. Our snazzy race T-shirt Kevin was created by our resident graphic artist Deidre, who also designed our race flyers and all our advertisements.

(photographs by Pete)