Defend Lawrence! Free 5K run/walk returns early Sunday

Almost 160 years ago, Quantrill’s raiders had no idea that their attempt to destroy Lawrence would one day inspire a celebration of the town’s tenacity.

“Defend Lawrence!” — a free 5K and 1-mile run/walk held each year on the anniversary of the Aug. 21, 1863 raid — will return for its ninth year at 5 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, starting at Ad Astra Running, 734 Massachusetts St. 

“I thought it would be fun to create an event that memorialized, not the attack so much, but Lawrence’s ability to bounce back from it,” says J. Jenkins, the event’s creator.

Jenkins, runner and co-owner of Ad Astra Running, felt inspired by Lawrence’s history to start a community event that would embody Lawrencians’ unyielding determination. People needn’t register or pay to run, as they would for most 5Ks. Non-runners are just as likely to attend as avid ones, Jenkins says. 

Reading a book called “Bloody Dawn: the Story of the Lawrence Massacre,” Jenkins learned that Quantrill’s raid launched at 5:05 a.m., so that’s when the run starts. 

“I think (the time) has really added to that event,” Jenkins says. “I don’t think we’d get nearly as many people if we held it at a decent hour. It’s a reason for people to get up early and do something out of their regular schedule.” 

In 2014, the event’s first year, about 80 people came. Over the years, the event has grown in popularity. Jenkins recalls the 2018 run, when more than 400 people came. Runners crowded Mass Street. 

“Since we’re downtown, we feel the freedom to be a little loud since it’s just this one day of the year. … There was someone who had just moved in (to an apartment downtown) and that morning we had hundreds of people out in the street,” Jenkins says. “They were curious if that was something that happened every Saturday. We told them, ‘No, it’s a very special event.’” 

Some people run; others walk. Some do the full 5K and some shuffle for a few blocks; others only watch. 

“We really wanted to make it into something that anybody could come and do it and feel a part of the community,” Jenkins says. “The way I talk about it is, ‘We show up at 5:05 a.m., we run around, we make sure the town is safe, we meet back at the store and we celebrate with mimosas.’” 

Attendees will celebrate with virgin mimosas this year, otherwise known as regular orange juice. Before COVID-19, attendees would drink mimosas inside Ad Astra, but the event is held exclusively outside now so champaign has been eliminated from the tradition. 

Grant Catloth, co-owner of Ad Astra Running, said the event is “uniquely Lawrence.”

“Lawrencians from all sorts of different groups show up,” Catloth said. “Walkers, runners, cyclists, gym-goers. (It’s) very communal and further reaching than just your standard running event.” 

Part of the event’s draw is its alignment to Lawrence’s motto, “From ashes to immortality,” Catloth said. 

“The Defend Lawrence run is remembering Quantrill’s raid on our town, a raid in which he literally burned down parts of the city that were later rebuilt,” Catloth said. “I think the event is tied to Lawrence’s resiliency in the face of adversity, which is kind of the motto of most runners: resilience in the face of adversity.” 

Chansi Long (she/her) reported for The Lawrence Times from July 2022 through August 2023. Read more of her work for the Times here.

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