H Street Running Club to Run 5K Tomorrow to Raise Money for Syrian Refugees

Members of H Street Runners will participate in a global effort to raise awareness and money for refugees of the civil war in Syria with a 5K tomorrow evening on the National Mall.

The informal run is part of 5K4Refugees international virtual 5K, which is raising money for CARE International’s efforts to help refugees in Turkey and elsewhere. The concept of a virtual 5K is that people around the world will organize small fundraising runs in their communities to raise money for the same cause.

H Street Runners, along with members of several other local running groups, including the Capitol Hill Running Club and the citywide Capital Striders, will start their run at 6:30 p.m. Thursday near the Capitol Building reflecting pool. The runners will run through the Mall in small groups, finishing at the reflecting pool.

Afterwards, runners will meet at Hamilton’s Bar and Grill at 233 2nd St. NW for a post-run happy hour.

The race was organized by H Street Runners member Adam Siple, who heard about the international event from a friend and fellow runner.

“I can’t take credit for the larger initiative, I just thought I could organize a local run since I happen to be coordinating events for H Street Runners anyway,” he said. “There was some significance here because we are the nation’s capital, and other people in the club seemed to agree and really helped put it together and get the word out.”

Siple said he expects 50-60 people to participate in the run, but emphasized that it is an informal gathering and participants will run in small groups to prevent any disruptions around the Mall. Any interested in running are welcome to arrive and can RSVP and find more information on the Facebook event page.

Runners or supporters can donate to CARE’s refugee relief fund online.

While temperatures are expected to warm into the 60s tomorrow, Siple said the runners are prepared to face the cold if the heat doesn’t stick around past sundown.

“This is a very significant showing for a run in December,” he said. “It might be cold and dark tomorrow but it’s pretty cold and dark right now if you’re a refugee I imagine, so the least we can do is run.”

Photo via Facebook/ 5K4Refugees International Virtual 5K