Local runners honor slain Memphis woman
Early Friday morning, while the moon hung bright and high in the sky and the city quietly slumbered, people began gathering outside Pfeiffer’s Cafe on the corner of Warren and Washington streets in Shelby.
Some wore pink or purple. Most of them were women and mothers.
The collection of around 20 walkers and runners wanted to pay tribute to Eliza Fletcher, a Memphis, Tennessee, mother, wife and runner who was abducted and killed in the early morning hours exactly a week prior.
All around the nation, thousands of people set off at 4:20 a.m., the time she was abducted, to finish Fletcher’s planned 10-mile route.
Ann Lewis, who helped kickstart the local run, wanted to find a way to send love from Shelby, North Carolina, to Shelby County, Tennessee.
Lewis said she was texting with her friend, Johnna Wynn, about the tragedy and Wynn told her to Google, “Finish Eliza’s Run.” An avid runner herself, when Lewis saw the efforts to organize runs around the country, she jumped at the chance to participate locally. Although not a requirement, people had the option to sign up for free on Runsignup.com and run virtually wherever they lived.
“Run anytime you feel safe, anywhere you feel safe, any distance you wish starting Friday morning, Sept. 9, through Sunday evening, Sept. 18,” reads the race site.
People were encouraged to run, walk, cycle, roller skate or swim the remaining five miles of Fletcher’s run and use the hashtag #finishelizasrun.
Shelby police officers followed along the route, lights flashing, and blocked intersections.
Lewis said she was overwhelmed with the local response.
“[It] brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “Kindness matters in times of grief. I hope that somehow this nationwide movement of kindness and solidarity makes a difference to Eliza’s family.”
Lewis is a member of the recently created Shelby Running Club for women, and the group usually meets around 5 a.m. to run together.
“I encourage each of you to be safe,” said Kellie Vanhoy, as she addressed the runners before they set off Friday morning. “We want to make this something annual to promote safety for women runners.”
Like Fletcher, Vanhoy said she is a working mom who puts in 50 hours a week and is training for a marathon. She has to run early in order to get her miles done before work and parenting duties intervene.
She said when she runs with the Shelby Running Club, she finds comfort in seeing the familiar faces of police officers in the early mornings, and the man who drives the city garbage truck.
“As women, we have to be aware,” she said.
They make eye contact and greet the people they meet, look out for cars that are coming too close, and watch out for one another.
It’s a familiar story that plays out every day. In the quiet of early mornings, women lace up their shoes and hit the dark streets before the world is awake. Many of them are mothers trying to train for races or get in some exercise and personal time before their children are up.
Evie Beam drove from Forest City Friday to join the group run.
A mother and a runner, she said she was so shaken by Fletcher’s violent death that she skipped her run for a few days. A physical education teacher, she normally runs alone well before daybreak. She said she doesn’t want to take away time with her three boys so she gets it done first thing in the morning before she takes them to school and begins her day. She wears a watch, and her husband is able to follow along with her route from home. She said she has become more aware of safety since it happened.
Claire Mangione of Shelby is one of the founders of Shelby Running Club, and she said it felt good to be a part of something bigger. She said every time she hears stories of a woman attacked, assaulted or endangered while out running, she wonders if she’s making a mistake by being out running in the dark. Friday’s run reminded her to keep running, just do it with others.
Not only did Vanhoy run in honor of Fletcher and all the other women who have gone out for a run and didn’t return or who faced an attacker or a threat, she spoke out against victim-blaming, a common response following attacks. Fletcher was criticized for wearing shorts and a sports bra while out running.
“I choose to train for hours each week in the dark, wearing what I choose, before the heat and sun are at its peak,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “It’s not a crime. Women are attacked simply because evil exists in this world. Evil is not going away and I ask that you do your part to look out for your neighbor, the moms with kiddos, the people you pass on the street. Let’s be stronger and more considerate together.”
Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Locals run for Eliza in honor of slain runner
