In races, the runners are typically the ones who garner the most attention — but that wasn’t the case with the Cameron Bean Memorial 5K in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This particular race holds special meaning for anyone who knew the man it was made in honor of and named after. An avid runner and beloved community member, Cameron was struck by a car while safely running against traffic during the day. He passed away from his injuries in 2015 at the age of 28.
It’s no wonder, then, that when oncoming storms threatened to shut down the race, the runners were determined to find a way to keep going. As the timing would have it, the runners barely made it off the starting line when lightening hit at the perfect spot to cause the lights to go out. As devastating as that must have been in the moment, it ended up being an an oddly fitting and beautiful moment for the race.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the shirt design and the poster design, but it tells a story about Cameron … and then there’s a big ole lightening bolt in the middle of the shirt and the poster,” someone pointed out in a video covering the events of the race. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It gives me cold chills to think about it.”
Even the lights going out couldn’t stop these runners — but to keep going, they needed the help of everyone who came to watch them. And so everyone took out their phones, using them as flashlights to light the way of every single runner. The crowd was already hyped up before the lights went out, but nothing can compare to the energy in The Cam Run at that point.
Watch this magical moment unfold in the Cameron Bean Memorial 5K in the video below.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!
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