National Press Club Opens Registration for the Run for Austin 5K on Nov. 18

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Registration for the Run for Austin Virtual 5K opens today to all runners and walkers eager to participate. The virtual race will be held on November 18 to raise awareness and public support for journalist Austin Tice, who has been unjustly detained in Syria since 2012. 

The annual event, which is in its third year, saw hundreds of runners lace up in 22 states and multiple cities overseas last year including Paris, Stockholm and Istanbul. New this year, the event will also aim to raise awareness for another detained journalist, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage. 

"It's outrageous that these two American journalists, who were simply doing their jobs in Syria and Russia, continue to languish in detention," said National Press Club President Eileen O'Reilly. "They are journalists, but they are also sons, brothers, friends and colleagues of ours and we'll be running this 5K for them on Nov. 18. Let's show the administration how many people need these journalists home. They must do more – now."

Austin Tice is an award-winning journalist, a seventh-generation Texan from Houston, a graduate of Georgetown University, and a Marine veteran. After seeing reports of the refugee crisis unfolding in Syria, Austin picked up his camera and headed straight to the front lines as a freelance reporter. He delivered important dispatches to The Washington Post and McClatchy before he was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus on Aug. 14, 2012. It's now been more than 11 years, and Austin has endured the longest detention of any U.S. journalist to date.

Evan Gershkovich is the American son of Soviet-born Jewish exiles and grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014. Before joining The Wall Street Journal in January 2022, he was a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times. He was also a news assistant at the New York Times. Evan was arrested in March of this year while on a reporting trip in Russia, making him the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War.

Register by Nov. 1 to receive an official race t-shirt. Sign up as an individual or join a team to run or walk any route, from anywhere, at any time, on the day of the race. For participants local to the Washington region, tickets can be purchased for a pancake breakfast to be held at the National Press Club. Other meetups are being confirmed around the country in cities including Houston, where the Tice family resides. 

Event proceeds will go to the Austin Tice Fund at the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's nonprofit affiliate. The fund holds money collected from businesses and individual donors who want to support the safe return of Austin Tice. The fund is being held to supplement the FBI reward for information leading to the safe return of Austin Tice, or if no reward is given, to help Austin transition back to his life after detention. In addition, a small portion of the funds will be used to support the Tice family's travel and advocacy efforts. 

Participants are encouraged to use the hashtags #BringAustinHome and #IStandWithEvan to keep the conversation going. Tag @PressClubDC to share with us your trails, your training and your teams as race day approaches. Registered participants may download a personal race bib to print out and wear. After completing the virtual 5K, runners can submit race results through their registered participant account.

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every leading journalism organization, the Club is a leading voice for press freedom worldwide.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Kate Helster, [email protected], 202-662-7516

SOURCE National Press Club