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Sozo run returns for fourth year

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Run for a Reason

A heap of mud-soaked tennis shoes sets Sozo Children’s Run for a Reason apart from other 5Ks. That and the obstacle course filled with barbed wire and hay bales.  

Run for a Reason is one of Sozo Children’s three major annual fundraisers, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting orphaned and neglected children in Uganda. The collection of mud-covered shoes will also be sent to those children, although they’ll be cleaned first. 

 This year marks the fourth annual 5K and Fun Run and will take place Sunday, April 12, at YMCA Hargis Retreat. Registration will begin at 1 p.m., accompanied by vendors and food trucks for participants. The 5K adventure run starts at 3:30 p.m. 

“This is a huge fundraiser that fuels what the Lord is doing in Uganda through Sozo Children,” said Laura Haley, the relations coordinator with Sozo Children. “We are excited and looking forward to inviting everybody who wants to come out.”

The race goes into the woods with natural obstacles as the trail leads over bridges and through streams. Runners will also encounter some man-made obstacles that require crawling military-style through the mud, although participants can avoid getting dirty if they’d like. The timed runners are required to trudge through all the challenges of the run, but fun runners can opt out of them. 

All the proceeds go to Sozo’s Village Project, which recently closed on 27 acres of land in Uganda. The Village Project is Sozo’s vision to equip the community to grow tomorrow’s leaders. It provides an opportunity for children to grow up and learn. This project will break ground soon and begin building homes for children, a church, a medical clinic and a school facility. 

“Now we actually own land and are getting ready to break ground,” Haley said. “It’ll be exciting to follow and see as buildings are erected out there.”

Run for a Reason isn’t limited to just the 280 corridor, though. The hashtag #myreason allows runners from all over the nation to participate and connect with Sozo Children. 

“We now have runners all over the country that run for their own individual reasons,” Haley said. “They put that hashtag up on social media, and it’s a fun way to follow up and see who’s running for what.” 

For more information, visit sozochildren.org/racenow. 

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