Putting Jamestown on the Map; World Vision to Host First Ever Outrun the Dark 5k Run this Saturday at Strider Field

When it comes to road races, Jamestown has been received as an attractive destination for quite some time now, in large part, due to longtime coach, meet director and race director, David Reinhardt, and the expertise exhibited by the dedicated members of his newly established Trackqua race-planning crew.

From his patented Lucy Half Marathon & 5k Run, to the Daniel Feather Memorial and so on, Reinhardt and co. have continuously been at the forefront of all the area’s race-planning, coordinating and timing needs.

For that reason, it comes as no surprise that World Vision International, a humanitarian relief and development organization headquartered in Washington, partnered with him to bring a rather unique event to the city of Jamestown.

“My brother in law, Rashaan Graham, works for World Vision; he is the Senior Director for child protection and education,” said Reinhardt, reflecting on how the event first came to fruition. “This race is something we’ve been talking about for a while… Rashaan wanted to create an event that we could pilot here in Jamestown and take it nationally, perhaps even globally, where we can continue to raise awareness on the issue.”

With a swarm of individuals rushing to register online prior to the race’s 7:15 start time on Saturday evening, it appears as if Reinhardt and Graham were successful in their mission. Their efforts, which are 5 months in the making, will culminate this weekend at the first ever Outrun the Dark 5k Run.

“I always wanted to do an evening run with glow sticks, lights and flashlights,” said Reinhardt. “When talking with World Vision, we came up with ‘Outrun the Dark,’

… The meaning behind that is a lot of times, the unseen things that happen to children, happen in darkness; we want to outrun the dark…To do that, we’re going to have a 5k race, start at Strider Field, run around the Southside community through Allen park and finish under the lights.”

Considering that Chautauqua County is currently in the midst of a major drug and sex-trafficking scandal, the ‘Childhood Lost’ city awareness campaign, hosted by World Vision, couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I’m somebody who grew up in Jamestown,” explained Graham. “I had opportunities in my career to do and see some great things. I always had this pride of being from Jamestown…I just wanted to be able to bring some of the work I’m doing back home.”

Using that as his motivation, Graham and World Views International partnered with the Jamestown Public School System, the Chautauqua County Child Advocacy Program and the Robert H. Jackson Center to spark a conversation about some of the bad things that are happening in Chautauqua County and around the world.

To help aid them in their quest, Girl Rising, a film that uses storytelling to inspire action, will be shown at the Robert H. Jackson Center on Friday from 9:30am – 1:00 pm for local area schools. Later in the day, a free public showing will be held at the Reg Lenna Theatre at 6:30 pm.

The purpose is to “educate” and to get people excited for the big race.

“There’s been a lot of people that are very interested in the campaign,” said Reinhardt. “It’s one of those things that once they see the movie and they hear some of the speakers… that’s when it’s really going to stick with them.”

The first ever Outrun the Dark 5k run will take place this Saturday at Strider Field. It costs $35 to register online; registration is open through Saturday at noon. For those who are less tech-savvy, it’s also possible to register from 5:30-6:45pm, the evening of, at Jefferson Middle School on Strider Field. Either way, Reinhardt and Graham are excited for the turnout.

“This is an exciting event for Jamestown,” said Reinhardt. “The race is a way for us, as a community, to say enough is enough – we want to help out. I’ve done a lot of races, this is one I’m really excited about and I want to see a success in Jamestown.”

Graham echoed similar sentiments.

“The money we raise really goes to support child protection work. Everybody who runs gets a glow stick and a t-shirt; those who raise 100 dollars will get an impact medal… We’re going to have someone capture the entire weekend and turn it into a D.V.D as part of the pilot project. I’ll be able to say, ‘here’s what my hometown did on behalf of children’… the hope is to replicate it across the country, we’re really excited.”

The Outrun the Dark 5k Run is a worldwide cause that will hopefully be taken to other communities. For the event to be successful, Reinhardt and Graham ask that people “come out and support the cause; believe that good things can happen out of Jamestown.”

With orange glow sticks lighting up the night on behalf of endangered children, the men will be happy to say that Jamestown did it first.