Early Saturday morning, runners tiptoed toward the white chalky starting line. They squatted and leaned forward with one foot in front of the other.
Then more than 200 of them bolted forward to begin a five-kilometer run in celebration of the 20th annual River Walk and Run at Alton Baker Park in Eugene.
The event raised money for HIV Alliance, an organization in Eugene that aims to prevent HIV infections and support individuals with HIV and AIDS. A goal of the event was to spread awareness throughout the community that HIV and AIDS are present in Eugene, said Lani Edenholm, communities and events coordinator of HIV Alliance.
A client and volunteer for HIV Alliance who refused to be identified video-taped the event. He said he hoped to edit it with Edenholm to raise additional funds for HIV Alliance.
“I will do what I can to give back because there were a lot people who were aware and willing to work with me,” the filmmaker said.
He was infected with HIV more than two years ago. He said he was too sick after suffering his second seizure to partake in the 2004 River Walk and Run, but he wanted to participate Saturday because of the help he received from HIV Alliance.
“The day I was diagnosed,” he said, “I had no health care. I thought the world was going to end. Then HIV Alliance went the extra mile for me.”
HIV Alliance provided the filmmaker with financial and emotional aid that changed his life, he said.
Cree Gordon – a family and human services major at the University and speaker, volunteer and client at HIV Alliance – also volunteered Saturday.
Gordon said he wanted participants of the River Walk and Run to recognize a point he often stresses during his student outreach speeches at local schools.
“I want them to realize they’re important,” Gordon said. “They have the right to make the choices they want to make. They have the right to say no or to use protection.”
Diane Lang, executive director at HIV Alliance, said many of its clients – like Gordon and the filmmaker – seek to contribute to HIV Alliance any way they can. She also said many of their clients have a difficult time affording medication, which costs between $1200 and $4800 a month. She said she wished the state Senate would provide better health insurance plans for people who contract HIV.
“The Senate and Congress shouldn’t fund the war,” the filmmaker said. “They should fund life, not death.”
He said this as he filmed runners crossing the finish line. Several of the runners gasped for air. Tears trickled from the eyes of the filmmaker as he continued taping.
“HIV Alliance has opened my mind up,” he said, letting the tears fall. “They helped me live, and that’s beautiful.”