35-mile ‘Run for Chinatown’ organized to honor Christina Lee’s life, raise awareness of anti-Asian crimes

A group of runners planned a 35-mile run on Monday called “Run for Chinatown” in which participants ran 175 laps around the block where Christina Yuna Lee lived in honor of her life.

Participants were challenged to run one mile for every year of Lee’s life, totaling 35 miles. While some ran the full 35 miles, others ran for 35 minutes or did 35 laps, reported ABC7.

The run was expected to take around seven to eight hours, during which the group circled laps around the block of the apartment where Lee had lived.

One runner, Pam Yang, told ABC7, “Of course the root of it is really sad, but it’s really joyful to have these people come together. To make noise, to be loud, to take space in the streets and to feel like we’re reclaiming that space a little bit, so that’s really beautiful.”

According to NBC New York, the organizers did not know Lee personally; however, they planned the 35-mile challenge to honor her memory and bring more awareness to the rise in violent crimes against Asian Americans.

One of the organizers, Joanne Wong, said, “She fought so hard even in her last moments, and we’re doing this for her, we’re doing this for all of us,” reported NBC New York

Lee, 35, was stabbed to death allegedly by Assamad Nash, 25, on Feb. 13 after he had followed her home to her Chinatown apartment. Nash, a homeless man with a long criminal history, was taken into custody shortly after committing the crime.

With the spike in violent crimes against Asian Americans, the Chinatown community is hoping to raise more awareness, as “many people still don’t know what’s happening,” Wong’s fellow organizer Elizabeth Yan told NBC New York.

“It’s not just our community, it’s the collective communities,” said Yan.

Feature Image via NBC New York

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