Rising Hearts May Blog Updates
Can you believe it’s already MAY!? And we are almost half way through 2026. We are just getting started! There is a lot coming up. We are in the planning phase for upcoming events, we just brought runners to the Boston Marathon and all 4 of them finished! We have a team running a 113 mile Relay Run for Emily Pike and all MMIWP on May 5th, we had our Earth Day 5k Plogging and Rising Hearts participated in events and screenings at Dartmouth College for Earth Day! We have some film screenings, and RUN JUNETEENTH events coming up quickly. We have multiple projects that we’ve been soliciting for donations / sponsorship opportunities, so if that interests you, please reach out.
The 8th Annual Running For Justice 5k, 10k, Half Marathon is live and continuing on strong! This year, we are adding a new team / relay distance | 113 mile Prayer Relay Run for Emily Pike. Emily Pike was murdered and stolen from her family and this world, and her family is still fighting for justice. This 113 mile journey is the distance she was planning on traveling from Mesa, AZ to the San Carlos Apache Tribe to be with her family. We hope this run, symbolically finishes the journey she would’ve traveled as we continue to help elevate this crisis through movement.
2026 is year to take up space, hold the door open for each other, and move into these spaces together. A time for us to not be loud, but proud and confident in the heart work we do, and build relations with those who see us, hear us, and invest in community, meaningfully. If you’re someone that wants to be part of that or someone that works with a brand and wants to collaborate, please reach out! Be sure to check out the rest of our blog for updates, inspiring running reflections and highlights!
Please see below for updates and community. If there is anything you would like to promote please reach out.
NEXT AWARENESS + ACTION EVENTS:
+ May 1-8th: 8th Annual Running For Justice 5k, 10k, Half Marathon | 113 Mile Relay Run for Emily Pike | LIVE: https://events.elitefeats.com/26justice.
+ May 1 - 10th: WATCH She Cried That Day, a film to bring awareness to MMIWP! Make $15 donation via registration link, all funds split equally to organizations and efforts. The filmmakers will email you the screener link to watch between May 1 -10th.
+ June 20-30th: #LetThemRun Pride 5k | Link TBD
+ July 1-12: Disability Pride 5k | Link TBD
We are up to so much! Wopila tanka, many thanks, to all of you for your support, and we look forward to our hearts moving forward together.
- Rising Hearts
Urgent Community Support
Our very own Lex Saenz, Program Coordinator for Rising Hearts is calling on our RH community to support G’bari Gilliam!
Gbari Gilliam is a talented, kind, and passionate young man whose life changed suddenly after going into cardiac arrest on March 27 during rehearsal for an upcoming show on Sunday. Our family is asking for prayers, support, and financial help during this very difficult and unexpected time.
Gbari graduated from UCLA in 2016 and has built a beautiful career as a professional dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor in Los Angeles. He has performed on Jimmy Kimmel and worked with Tyler Perry productions, using his gift and passion for dance to inspire others and bring joy to many lives. Gbari is known for his warm smile, strong spirit, and dedication to helping others grow through dance and creativity.
Right now, Gbari is in the hospital fighting for his life after suffering cardiac arrest. This has been devastating and overwhelming for our entire family. As he receives critical medical care and support in the ICU, medical expenses, hospital bills, and recovery costs are quickly increasing.
We are raising funds to help cover:
• Emergency medical care and hospital expenses
• ICU and treatment costs
• Rehabilitation and recovery support
• Living and support expenses during recovery
• Family travel and care support during this time
Gbari needs your help to raise $500,000 for Life Saving Heart Transplant. This is very serious and Costly. Every donation Helps. Please share.
Gbari has been diagnosed with a rare heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the situation is very serious. The medical team has informed the family that a heart transplant is now needed in order to save his life. Until a donor heart becomes available, he will need an artificial heart to sustain him, which will involve multiple procedures, extended hospital care, and a very costly transplant and recovery process.
“In the dance community we watch each other grow. I’ve danced with G’bari for jobs, at events and sessions, he’s always been so open, kind and loving regardless of anything else going on! The dance community is a small and we all get to witness each others highs and lows. One thing about our community is that we do come together! G’bari is a light in the community and we need all hands on deck to make sure he struts out that hospital ready to dance again! We love you G’bari! <3” - Lex
Community Events
Miles for Soul is Soul Trak Outdoors flagship event that helps fund Soul Trak Outdoors amazing events that supports community wellness and youth access to outdoor experiences from canoeing, biking, climbing to skiing. Soul Trak Outdoors, Miles for Soul 5K Run/Walk is an annual event in the Washington, D.C. area, scheduled for May 9, 2026, at Anacostia Park. Options include an in-person 5K run/walk, a virtual challenge, and a celebration with music and food.
Key Details for 2026:
Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
Time: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT
Location: Anacostia Park, 1900 Anacostia Dr SE, Washington, DC 20020
Purpose: Funding programs to connect communities of color to the outdoors and promoting outdoor equity.
Virtual Option: A virtual challenge option is available.
Registration: Tickets are available on RunSignup.Register here: https://runsignup.com/Race/DC/DC/MilesfortheSoul
Volunteer here: https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/DC/DC/MilesfortheSoul
Donate here: https://runsignup.com/Race/Donate/DC/DC/MilesfortheSoul
UPCOMING RUNS
RUNNING FOR JUSTICE
Join us for our 8th Annual Running For Justice 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, 113 Mile Prayer Relay for Emily Pike!
+ When: May 1 - 8, 2026
+ Where: Virtual + In Person Locations To Be Added
+ Add the Indigenous lands to your bib!
+ SHE CRIED THAT DAY film screener link with $15 donation
Beneficiaries:
+ National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
+ Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
+ Justice for Emily Pike
+ Rising Hearts
Distances:
+ 5k
+ 10k
+ Half Marathon
+ 113 MILE Prayer Relay for Emily Pike (run the distance she was supposed to go from Mesa to San Carlos Apache Tribe | Do it with family, as a team, as community)
TEAM RISING HEARTS
Let’s celebrate these amazing humans, inspiring community runners, who ran the Boston Marathon! They have helped promote Rising Hearts and some of them have helped fundraise for the heart work we are grateful to keep doing. This year, Team Rising Hearts had 4 runners for the 130th Boston Marathon - Mel Devoney, Ashleigh Thompson, Caroline Sekaquaptewa, and Jordan Whetstone, all cross the finish line. This team has a fundraising goal of $7,000 for Rising Hearts to keep supporting the heart work. There’s still time to support! Click the button below!
Activations at the Boston Marathon
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND!
We had a team of runners at the 130th Boston Marathon! This was Rising Hearts 4th year in collaboration with the BAA and other brand partners, like On, to support Indigenous runners and athletes, at this race and to help advocate for all runners who don’t see themselves in these spaces. We are committed to helping the running and outdoor spaces a more safe, supportive, diverse, inclusive, accessible and equitable space, not just for Indigenous runners, but for everyone who enjoys movement and who wants to see themselves in these spaces!
130th Boston Marathon + the Indigenous Runners “Sacred Strides” Panel
Indigenous Peoples from all over were able to hold space at the @bostonmarathon Expo for the Indigenous Runners Panel, moderated by Larry Spotted Crow Mann (Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band) of Ohketeau Cultural Center, Thawn Harris (Narragansett Tribe), Kristen Wyman (Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band), Carissa McKinney (Turtle Clan of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe) and Jordan Whetstone (Lakota) of Rising Hearts!
Not only were they all able to share in their experiences of running and community, they were each able to speak to all or some parts of the heart work they all do. The history and legacy of Indigenous running and presence at the Boston Marathon, has been woven into the miles with the lands from start to finish.
Indigenous Legacy Runners:
Tom Longboat (Onondaga), Boston Marathon’s first Indigenous Champion in 1907 (runner up in 1901). Now, his great-grandson, Kristian Jamieson will be running in his footsteps on Marathon Monday!
Tarzan Brown (Narragansett), 2 time winner of the Boston Marathon in 1936 and 1939. He ran the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Heartbreak Hill was named because of Brown’s effort to break Kelley’s heart on the course to continue on to win the marathon!
Andrew Sockalexis (Penobscot), ran the marathon at the 1912 Sweden Olympics. Finished runner up in 1912-1913 at the Boston Marathon. - their legacy of Indigenous running and our presence at the Boston Marathon!
Patti Dillon (Mi’kmaq), we mentioned her before on the Panel. She has held the world record and American road records. She was considered one of the most dominating American female runners of the 1970’s. And runner up at the Boston Marathon 1979-1981! Going from never running and smoking, to dominating running, she has inspired many Indigenous runners! And continues to coach the next generations.
What an honor to share space with all these inspiring voices! Being able to have the space created for us and our voices, further shows the community we want to see and bring! We can’t wait for more in the years to come!
Boston Marathon | Rising Hearts x On LightSpray Run
What. A. Morning! Wow. It was an incredible honor to hold space, all thanks to On, for creating the space for us, to bring community together.
We began the morning with a land blessing, led by Larry Spotted Crow Mann (Nipmuc), Executive Director of Ohketeau Cultural Center. Blessed everyone there before we headed out on a shakeout run and tested our the new Lightspray shoes.
We continued with community in getting to know each other, catch up, meet for the first time, and ended the run with a grounding performance from the Redhawk Singers and Dancers! New connections made, great conversations, and we are excited to help continue the conversations and do what we can to create the spaces for us to be in and thrive in!
Redhawk Singers & Dancers
We are so grateful for the Redhawk Singers joining us that morning! The drum is the heartbeat of our Nations and communities. To have them center within our event, just brought more meaning and purpose. We look forward to more opportunities like this to come. So stay tuned :)
RUN REFLECTIONS
Melissa Perez | Charity Runner
As of November 2025, I’ve moved through multiple phases of training, long hours on trail, virtual course recon, and intentional planning sessions. It didn’t fully feel real until I arrived at the Black Canyon Trailhead for Cocodona 250 training camp on April 4. Leading up to that weekend, life and training have felt like survival mode, balancing energy, time, and capacity has been exhausting. There are days I’m too hard on myself, days I don’t want to train, and on those days, I remind myself, I’m just a normal person training for something extraordinary. The lows of this training cycle haven’t been physical, but emotional, the quiet loneliness that can come with chasing something bigger than yourself.
At the same time, the highs have come from the people around me, the messages, the check-ins, the support from friends, loved ones, and even strangers. That sense of community has carried me. On April 4, as I set out on the first 37 miles of the course, it finally hit me: I’m really doing this. I was chosen as a scholarship recipient, and I get to take up space in this sport. Those 37 miles were some of the toughest I’ve experienced so far. I navigated unexpected challenges, a torn vest bungee, getting my period mid-run, managing my condition (autophony), and running out of water just four miles before Lane Mountain (mile 32). When I finally reached the aid station, I sat down, smiled to myself, and drank a cold beer. On Sunday, I previewed the Sedona to Munds section, a pacerless stretch, and shared miles with an incredible group. We traded stories and kept coming back to the same question: Why Cocodona?
Reflecting on my training and that weekend, I feel grounded in gratitude, for the community of “normal people” showing up for something greater than themselves. What stands out most to me is my resilience, my grit, and my heart. I want to represent my community well, to take up space, and to continue showing what’s possible when you choose to believe in yourself, even when it feels uncertain.
Cal Calamia | Running with Purpose Athlete Advocate
Schuyler, Chella, and I competed in the Ironman Oceanside relay. It was special when we realized that each of us loves one of the three triathlon sports. While the world tries to push trans folks out of sports and public life, we collaborated to showcase trans excellence and joy.
Just days before we stepped on the starting line, the IOC announced a ban on trans women in the Olympics. Knowing this, we swam, cycled, and ran for something much greater than ourselves—for every person disenfranchised by transphobia, white supremacy, ableism, and colonialism.
It was an incredible weekend surrounded by our community. We raced our hearts out and earned a spot on the podium. This is the start of something big, and we will continue making space for trans and non-binary athletes in the Ironman world.
The Speed Project (TSP) - Rodeo Athletic Club
I would have never believed that I could pull off what I did that weekend; as part of a 400-mile relay from Santa Monica to Las Vegas, I ran a total of 65 miles over 48 hours while living out of an RV in the desert with people I met only days before. It was a brutal yet extraordinarily rewarding race, but the best part about it was making fast friends with my team. I was subbed in last minute due to an injury, and the team made me feel immediately welcome. I'm so lucky that I got to be on a team that not only fought for the creation of the first non-binary leaderboard in TSP history, but won our category and placed really high in the overall leaderboard. Even more impressive is that Rodeo Athletic Club was running to represent and celebrate trans, non-binary and queer runners, and raised over $3,000 to split between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and Rising Hearts.
RUN FOR RISING HEARTS
RUN WITH US!
Currently, we have 25 charity runner’s Rising Hearts with $4,586 raised of the $30,000 2026 goal! We have a SoCal Ragnar Relay team of 12, and raised $2,002 for Rising Hearts! And 4 runners for the Rising Hearts Boston Marathon team raising $2000 of $7,000!
In 2025, we had 37 runners dedicating their run / race to Rising Hearts! We met our goal of $36,000! And in 2024, we had 5 California International Marathon runners as well, with $2,500 raised!
All of this was possible because we made a new option available since we had a handful of runners reach out to us, asking how can they support us or fundraise for the heart work we do. So, we created the Rising Hearts Charity Runner’s Program, aside from our partnership with The Wander Project (where you select a race from them, with set fundraising limits, then we receive the funds at the end of the year), and through some of our bib entries we receive at the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, California International Marathon and Every Woman’s Marathon. So don’t miss your chance to run with Rising Hearts! We help reimburse your registration fees if needed, get you fuel, a singlet, and shoes. And, we have no penalties for not reaching your goal. we’re just grateful you chose us and are supporting us in this way. Thank you!
1.) We had TEAM RISING HEARTS at the Every Woman’s Marathon in Scottsdale, AZ - all 13 women crossed the finish line and raised $7,436 for Rising Hearts!
2.) Rising Hearts had 2 runners at the ‘25 New York City Marathon and raised $4,136.
3.) Rising Heart had 3 runners at The Marathon Project, December 21st in Chandler, AZ, where Hosava Kretzmann (Hopi/Diné) also qualified for the 2028 Marathon Olympic Trials! The 3 runners raised $3,840.
4.) Rising Hearts had 2 runners at the California International Marathon, where Blanca and Carlos raised $1,904, and we donated $700 to NorCal Resist on behalf of Blanca as well!
5.) And 24 runners who collectively raised $18,806 for Rising Hearts!
Reach out to us via email, info@rising-hearts.org. Share with us your plans, then we’ll set you up with the link!
Want to run for Rising Hearts?
This is more new for us! We have a givelively link specifically for runners/individuals, who want to raise funds for the heart work we do! If it’s not through our partnership with The Wander Project, or our other partners at CIM or Boston, you can run for Rising Hearts at any race you choose and bring more fun and purpose to your why and the run.
Perks: RH Singlet, merch, stickers, fuel, and if shoes are needed, we can help you! We are excited to learn from you and support you. We are here to amplify your efforts through our platforms and help you reach your goal! Email us at info@rising-hearts.org if you’re interested in dedicating a run and raising funds for Rising Hearts.
GOALS FOR 2026:
We hope to get 15 more Rising Hearts runners for 2026 and raise $30,000, collectively ! And we have 25 runners now, confirmed :)
Suggested fundraising limits:
RH Athletes / Community = $600
Open to Community = minimum $800
Perks: RH Singlet, merch, stickers, fuel, and if shoes are needed, we can help you!
PODCASTS TO LISTEN TO:
Grand Canyon Speaks
New Grand Canyon Speaks Podcast (1/2/26)
Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! This episode is about Kyle Sumatzkuku, a Hopi runner from Mishongnovi. Ancestral Lands Core intern, Meranden, talks with Kyle about his running journey and what it was like to qualify and run in the Boston Marathon. He also talks about his experiences becoming a cross-country coach and mentoring primarily Diné (Navajo) and Hopi youth through Wings of America.
Presented by the Grand Canyon Speaks Podcast, whose mission is to capture the voices and stories of those who call Grand Canyon home, highlighting individuals belonging to the indigenous tribes associated with the canyon.
Listen/download on Apple Podcasts or the Grand Canyon Speaks webpage.
https://www.nps.gov/.../photosmul.../grand-canyon-speaks.htm
Made possible with funding and support from
@grand_canyon_conservancy
#GrandCanyon #GrandCanyonFirstVoices #Podcast #Hopi #indigenousathlete