An inaugural memorial walk and run is set to take place this weekend in Athens as community members gather to remember Laken Hope Riley and raise funds for the foundation established in her name, followed by a public memorial service featuring remarks from Riley’s family and Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).
The Run for Your Life Walk/Run 5K begins at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, February 21, at Tate Plaza, located at 809 South Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia. The race honors the life of Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University who was murdered on February 22, 2024, during a morning run on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who had entered the United States illegally in September 2022, was later arrested, charged, and in November 2024 convicted on multiple counts including kidnapping and murder. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The event description says that Riley “loved life, running, and Jesus, and many remember her for faithfully running her race with Christ. Though her life was taken far too soon, Laken continues to bring hope. This run unites Athens to be bold in their faith, to run for their lives, and to love as she loved.” The program also references 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
A memorial service, which is open to the public and does not require race admission, will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude at 12:00 p.m. The service is scheduled to include remarks from Riley’s family, a Q&A with Rep. Mike Collins, who authored the Laken Riley Act, a message from Pastor Derek Anglin of New Grace Church titled Run For Your Life, and worship.
Organizers state that the majority of funds raised will go to the Laken Hope Foundation, which “honors Laken Riley by supporting causes she loved: safety awareness for women, aid and tuition for nursing students, and children’s healthcare.”
Elizabeth Sun Designs, a family-owned workshop that produces handmade goods, is organizing the event in collaboration with Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) at the University of Georgia. Thirteen sponsors from industries including design and wellness, construction, automotive sales, cleaning services, animal care, and specialty food shops are supporting the effort.
Governor Scott Walker, President of Young America’s Foundation, told Breitbart News, “We must work to ensure that what happened to Laken Riley never happens again. Thank you to these great young leaders for keeping her memory alive.”
Hundreds to Honor Laken Riley at Faith-Focused ‘Run for Your Life’ 5K in Athens, Georgia, An inaugural memorial walk and run is set to take place this weekend in Athens as community members gather to remember Laken Hope Riley, University of Georgia/YAF
Macy Rutledge of Elizabeth Sun Designs said the idea for the 5K “sparked after I heard that president Trump captured the Venezuelan president knowing that Laken Riley’s murderer is Venezuelan.” She added that she “immediately felt for them as though it was a little bit of justice for them and soon after wanted to do something for her,” and reached out to the Laken Hope Foundation about organizing a memorial. Rutledge noted, “This is the first one. We will make this an annual event to be sure that she is forever honored for the life she lived.”
Rutledge continued, “We have many sponsors that we are so grateful for that helped make this happen. They all feel the same way. they truly want to see justice for her family, light out of something dark and unite Athens under God.”
Reflecting on what honoring Riley through the 5K means to her personally, she expressed, “Laken could have been me. I don’t run in public anymore and I always check in with my dad. Athens no longer feels safe and I just pray that this will redeem it in some way. I want my town to feel safe again. I wish this had never happened and I am passionate about bringing people to Jesus because when you truly do have that encounter with Him everything else starts to make sense.”
Rutledge remarked that those who cannot attend can still support the effort: “Help us spread the word by talking about it, sharing our post, and pray for Athens.”
Nick Kammerzell, Chairman of University of Georgia YAF, became involved in organizing the event after being contacted by Rutledge, who was seeking a student organization partner that reflected the values she wanted. He explained, “After hearing about the event I was instantly invested. It sounded like an amazing initiative for Laken Riley and it was Christ focused.”
Dharshine Jay, who serves as Co-Chair, shared that approximately 400 people had signed up as of Tuesday. She mentioned that she became more familiar with Riley’s story after studying with Riley’s sister, Lauren, during her freshman year.
She pointed to the anti-ICE protests and walkouts at UGA and indicated that her YAF chapter chose to participate in the race and memorial to reflect its beliefs. “We wanted to get involved in this race and memorial to stand for our values of conservatism and faith in Christ. We want to reflect the full truth in whatever stance we take, whether on immigration or gender or anything else,” Jay emphasized.
She affirmed, “Our chapter always makes a concerted effort to engage in debate and discussion and prayer before every event we do. We focus on modeling boldness.”
Jay also addressed the title of the event, saying, “Something really special to me is the title of the race, ‘Run for your life’. A lot of people have had questions about that. The name is not about running from fear, but running toward hope in Christ (Hope is actually Laken’s middle name).”
University of Georgia YAF recently hosted a tabling event focused on immigration policy inspired by Peter Schweizer’s #1 New York Times nonfiction bestselling book The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon, which has spent three consecutive weeks at the top of the list. The organization has continued to expand its slate of campus events and will bring detransitioner Chloe Cole to campus on February 23.
