‘This feels different.’ Former UK athlete to embark on 26-mile ‘Run For Black Lives.’
Former University of Kentucky cross country runner Josh Nadzam is no stranger to activism, having been heavily involved in community service and charity work during his time as a Wildcat. On Friday, he’ll hit the pavement in support of a cause that’s long been dear to his heart.
Nadzam will run 26 miles from Lexington to Frankfort to generate funding and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. He organized the trek, dubbed “The Run For Black Lives,” with help from the Kentucky branch of the NAACP and local Black entrepreneurs, some of whom designed T-shirts and a poster for the event.
“For me, calling attention to social justice, racism, discrimination and all the injustices against Black lives is very important. So I’m always trying to think of different roles I can play to help. And I truly believe all of us have a role to play in this,” Nadzam told the Herald-Leader in a phone interview. “I try to use my ability to run as a form of activism, so that’s how this idea came about.”
Nadzam developed the concept for Friday’s event about a month ago and began discussing it with members of the Black community.
“I started vetting it with a lot of my Black friends, because I wanted to make sure that this was something that was appropriate and that they felt comfortable with,” Nadzam said.
He had dinner with his friend Adrian Wallace, vice president of the Lexington NAACP, to discuss his idea and the two got to work.
“We vetted it through a few other people and once I felt like people thought it would be a good idea we put it in motion,” Nadzam said. “It came together very quickly. I believe in acting quickly and not waiting.”
Local businesses such as John’s Run/Walk Shop and Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream quickly jumped on board as sponsors.
The Run For Black Lives will kick off at Fifth Third Pavilion at Cheapside Park in Lexington at 9:30 a.m. Friday with words from a handful of speakers. Around 10 a.m. Nadzam and others will begin the run, which will wind out of Lexington via Main Street and Leestown Road and end in Frankfort in an area between the State Capitol Building and the Governor’s Mansion. Organizers plan to deliver to the office of Gov. Andy Beshear a resolution calling for civilian oversight of police misconduct.
Organizers have used a fundraising website built around fitness tracking called moolathon.com to raise money that will be donated to the Kentucky branch of the NAACP. Those interested can pledge as little as 25 cents per mile to sponsor Nadzam’s run. They can also join Nadzam for all or part of the run.
Wallace said he’s hopeful the event can be part of a larger movement that results in concrete measures to address systemic inequalities in American criminal justice.
“We have to say Black lives matter in this country because it’s obvious by our racist past and policies that Black lives don’t matter, so we need to raise awareness of that issue,” Wallace said. “I’m hoping that from the protests that have been going on across the world ... and from (Nadzam) running from Lexington to Frankfort that people begin to understand that better.
“I really feel like this moment is different. I think you have a lot more people paying attention and I’m excited to see some true policy change happen. And I believe at the end that’s going to happen.”
Nadzam and Wallace said they’ve already received more than $3,000 worth of pledge money and hope to generate at least $5,000.
Having grown up in an underprivileged neighborhood outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., Nadzam decided at a young age that he wanted to do what he could to help members of marginalized communities.
“I grew up in a very bad neighborhood with a lot of drugs and a lot of violence around. So for me, my whole dream was ‘if I ever make it out of this dire situation I want to be able to help people who grew up like me and constantly fight,’” he said. “About 10 years ago is when I really started to learn about social injustices and systemic racism and how policies have perpetuated poverty in marginalized communities. So, for me, if anybody experiences injustice that bothers me ... I want this world to be great for everybody.”
That instinct to help others followed Nadzam to UK, where as a sophomore in 2010 he earned the school’s CATSPY Award for Community Service and was named to the SEC Community Service Team for, among other things, his work with a charity named Soles4Souls. That organization works to deliver shoes and clothing to underprivileged children in the United States and around the world. The UK Athletics Department helped organize trips to Nashville in which Nadzam and others would deliver donations to the company’s headquarters in Nashville.
“I’m forever grateful for how supportive UK was with that,” Nadzam said.
Nadzam chose to remain in Lexington after his college running career ended and with his professional career has continued the push to uplift struggling communities. He’s the director of the non-profit Lexington-based company “On the Move Art Studio,” which partners with local businesses to host free art classes for Central Kentucky kids in “underserved neighborhoods” in a mobile art studio.
Like Wallace, Nadzam said the energy currently surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of recent events is palpable and he’s optimistic it can lead to real change. He hopes Friday’s “Run For Black Lives” can play a positive role in that push.
”This feels different. It feels like we’re on the other side of a tipping point,” Nadzam said. “We have to all be behind this. Even if you don’t know a single Black person it doesn’t matter, we have to be all-in.”
The Run For Black Lives
When: Friday, 9:30 a.m.
Start: Fifth Third Pavilion in downtown Lexington
How to contribute: Moolathon.com
