On the first weekend of October, nearly 2,000 people ran through the streets of Southwest Atlanta as part of “The Race,” the largest Black long-distance running event in the country. The brainchild of race director Tes Sobomehin Marshall, the event includes a 5K and half marathon on Saturday, followed by a day of community service, with participants packing food supplies with Hosea Feed the Hungry, helping landscape local parks, and volunteering with other neighborhood organizations. In addition, $5 from every entry supports nonprofits including Empowered Readers, Girls on the Run Atlanta, and the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home.
For Marshall, the Race—which launched in 2018—is the culmination of more than a decade of building inclusive community running groups and starting races in parts of town overlooked by other organizers.
