I ran 1,000km in 4 months but I didn’t want to share it on social media. I got my shiny new belt buckle in the mail this week for finishing the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (GVRAT). While I’m proud of running 1,000km between April and July, I’m still working through my feelings about the race director. Lazarus Lake (legal name Gary Cantrell) is the mind behind GVRAT. This race was a phenomenon, seeing more than 19,000 participants. Lake built on the success of GVRAT by launching another virtual race, the Circumpolar Race Around the World (CRAW) in early August. CRAW came to my attention earlier this week as I read about Lazarus Lake issuing an ultimatum to a team named Black Lives Matter (BLM). Lake’s letter shown below, stated that BLM could rename their team or withdraw from the race with a refund. These images are from Ben Chan’s Instagram posts and are shared with Chan’s permission.
Team BLM is led by Ben Chan, @malerunner on Instagram. Chan completed the GVRAT at the end of July and posted the photo below to the GVRAT Facebook group. As shown, Chan wore a Black Lives Matter singlet in his celebratory photo. Chan is Asian American and is married to a black American. The photo sparked a debate in the Facebook group which caught Lake’s attention. Lake would later delete Chan’s Facebook post and make his own post about not tolerating political content from group members. Lake issued his ultimatum to team BLM a few weeks later after they signed up for the CRAW. On August 30th, Lake gave team BLM 48 hours to change their name or get banned from CRAW. Team BLM refused to change their name and Lake followed through on his commitment, banning the team from the race.
This brings me back to my feelings about Lake. I really admire what Lake has done for ultra running. Lake’s race, the Barkley Marathons has gained a large amount of popularity over the last few years. The Netflix documentary, The Barkley Marathons – The Race that Eats its Young helped ultra running gain visibility in mainstream culture. The movie inspired me to continue pushing my limits in the sport and I’m sure the movie has inspired thousands of other runners. With or without meaning to, Lake has become one of the most prominent figures in ultra running. This is one of the biggest concerns that I have with Lake’s recent actions. Lake sent a clear message that he does not support tolerance or inclusion when he banned team Black Lives Matter from his CRAW race. As an ultra runner, I felt compelled to speak out. Ultra running is still young and I would hate for it to be defined as an intolerant and noninclusive sport. I certainly do not want that label and I’m sure that I share this feeling with the vast majority of my fellow ultra runners.
I won’t be posting any photos of my GVRAT belt buckle to social media any time soon. I don’t think I’ll wear my GVRAT race t-shirt either. I would encourage other ultra runners to comment on Ben Chan’s recent Instagram posts to show your support. Let Ben Chan and others know that you support a tolerant and inclusive ultra running community.
