ROANOKE, Va. – A group of local runners are honoring Eliza Fletcher, the Tennessee woman who was abducted and murdered while running.
On Friday, the runners gathered to complete the race she initiated.
RunAbout Sports in Roanoke gathered at Chris’s Coffee & Custard for a three- or 10-mile run as part of the nationwide virtual race.
Ali Bowersock, co-owner of RunAbout Sports Roanoke, said that runners wear luminous clothing, carry pepper spray, and even take self-defense lessons in order to protect themselves.
Now it is the community’s responsibility to contribute.
“It’s everyone’s job to make sure that we are supported and we are safe. And it’s unfair that such an exemplary person doing something that we all do every day, her life was ended short because of that. And it could have been any of us,” said Bowersock.
Another group run is set for Reserve Avenue on Saturday at 7:00 a.m.
If you feel more comfortable jogging in a group, RunAbout Sports holds a group run every Friday at 8:30 a.m.
