Mt. Vernon Register-News

Sports

May 17, 2010

Athletes aim to run 500 miles

By JEREMY HALL jeremy.hall@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — A group of local Fellowship of Christian Athletes members are using their legs to raise money for a worthy cause.

The “Redemption Runners” — Steve Beckham, Joe Capps, Samuel Cortez, Karson Hahn, Kyle Martin, Harald Nord and Nick Vang — are aiming to run a combined 500 miles during May and June in an effort to end human trafficking.

The group already has started running and is seeking pledges for each mile they can complete in the two-month “Tread on Trafficking” program launched by Love146, an organization that seeks to end child sex slavery and exploitation worldwide.

According to the Love146 Web site, two children are sold every 60 seconds in a $32 billion annual industry that is the “second-most lucrative crime in the world.”

Beckham spearheaded the local effort to raise money for the organization and sought teammates for the effort.

“It’s a great cause,” said Nord, a foreign exchange student at Mt. Vernon Township High School.

The group hopes to solicit 5 cents a mile in donations, with the goal of running at least 500 miles before the end of June, meaning an individual who pledges a nickel for every mile would be donating $25 to the cause.

“We just said, ‘hey, let’s run this summer,’” said Beckham. “For the most part, we’ll be running as a team. We’re going to try to do a 5k, 10k, just around town.

“We hope to get 500 miles in before [June 30] and get a little extra in. We’ll try our best.”

Beckham is a member of the Mt. Vernon baseball team, while Martin is on the basketball team at Rend Lake College. Capps, Cortez, Hahn, Nord and Vang all participated in track and field at the high school this spring.

The youths attend Central Christian Church together and participate in various youth groups as well as play music together. They hope to evenly distribute the 500 miles among the group.

“We’re going to do this together,” said Vang. “We work as a team so hopefully we can all share the miles.”

“This is going to be our last high school summer,” added Cortez. “It’s also a chance to  enjoy summer with each other.”

Capps said the group will benefit from knowing its effort can make a difference in a fight against crime.

“They might not know our names or who we are,” he said. “But they’re going to see what we’re doing.”

The Redemption Runners have set up an account on Facebook to help spread the word of their effort. Those who wish to make a pledge also may call Barry Jackson at 237-3125.

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