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London, Ont. runner to host 5K run for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Joel Kennedy, the founder of the Indigenous Running Club, is hosting the run today in London's Spring Bank Park

In October 2015, Joel Kennedy began his health journey. He knew he needed to make a lifestyle change, so the London, Ont. native, who is a member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames and is Bear Clan, began running. He started with a couch-to-5K program, and in just three years he ran his first marathon. During that time, he founded the Indigenous Runners Club, and today, on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, he is organizing a 5K run/walk in London’s Springbank Park to raise funds for the N’Amerind Friendship Center, a non-profit Indigenous organization.

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Today is National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, and in honour of the occasion, Kennedy has organized an in-person 5K run or walk for 100 people for the  N’Amerind (London) Friendship Centre. All funds will be used for the continued efforts with the revitalization of language, culture and history from the impacts of colonization, including Residential Schools.

The event is now sold out, but anyone wishing to support the centre can still donate on the race event page. For non-Indigenous runners looking for other ways to support Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Kennedy says the best thing they can do is to educate themselves on the history of Indigenous peoples in this country. After the recent and devastating news of the residential schools across the country, the need for this type of education is more apparent than ever.

As the Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living Coordinator at N’Amerind (London) Friendship Centre, Kennedy wanted to find a way to help improve the health of the members in his community and starting the Indigenous Runners Club has allowed him to do just that. As much as we like to think running is an accessible and inclusive sport, many Indigenous people have not always felt comfortable or represented in the running community, and Kennedy’s club has helped to change that.

“The whole reason I created the Indigenous running club was to support people in my position so they would have something to connect to,” he explains. “That way when we went to a race, people would recognize us. They would see that we’re a club, they would acknowledge us as not just single individuals.”

Kennedy has come a long way since he started running, and during this time he has inspired countless others to lace up their shoes along with him. Recently he completed his first 50K ultramarathon in Calgary, where even the race volunteers got emotional as he crossed the finish line — as his wife said to him, “Wow, you make an impact everywhere you go!”

Kennedy after finishing his first 50K ultra

If you’d like more information about the event, visit the event website.

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