By: Greg Lehman (@bestcoastgreg)
LA Running Connoisseur, Co-Connoisseur
“Bringing people together around running”
In these five words, Compton Run Club Founder and Owner Ray Harvey defined the vision and collective runaway success that was the 2nd annual Compton Run Club 5k for $5k Scholarship Fundraiser on August 19, 2023 at Wilson Park in Compton, California.
Together with his family, wife Shanola and daughter Peyton, the CRC team, and a host of volunteers, brands, and government entities, this bright summer morning blew past the goal line of raising funds for two $5,000 scholarships to help send two first-generation college attendees – one female, one male – from the Compton Unified School District to higher education.
“It’s amazing what it turns into,” he said of the project, “and that’s what the 5k for $5k was: it’s the community coming together.”
After earning remarkable wins with the inaugural 5k for $5k in 2022, which included surpassing the $10,000 goal, 81 runners in the 5k event, and two Certificates of Recognition from the California State Senate (one to Harvey for his work as an individual and the other to the CRC as a whole) there were high hopes for the sequel to earn more impressive numbers.
The community delivered spectacularly. This time around, 126 runners registered and more than $11,000 was raised through race entries and donations.
The scale of the event was elevated in 2023 as well. Street closures and permits were required to start by the run club’s regular starting location (Patria Coffee), which brought in the city’s Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department, Manager’s Office, and City of Compton Mayor Emma Sharif to team up on getting approvals and the safety services set.
The day’s events played out fluidly, with enthusiasm from all participants and partners. In Harvey’s words, the event put “the City of Compton in a different light. Everything about the event was positive, everything about the event was a success. We hit our goal, we came together and literally shut down the streets for something positive.”
Harvey chooses these words with intention. Street takeovers, where groups of people will illegally block off streets to race cars, perform stunts, or show off their car kits or artistic work have been increasingly occurring in Compton. “We literally came and shut down the streets for something positive, which was health, wellness, community, raising money for kids, and just doing our part to change the narrative and create a positive light for the City of Compton.”
Mike Gipson, California State Assemblymember for the 65th Assembly District, was quick and happy to share words about the event. “We’re here promoting all the great things in Compton,” Gipson said on race day. “We’re here to promote health, promote community, and promote community involvement. This is absolutely what all of our communities need, and we want to see more of that coming from communities of color…because we promote and support healthy lifestyles.”
As multi-faceted as good health is, the event also included support from the Department of Mental Health in Compton, with resource guides and literature offered by Mental Health Counselor RN Patricia Daughtrey and her team at the race.
“Running can release stress,” Daughtrey said, “so we try to give our clients many resources and ways that they can incorporate different modalities to promote wellness.”
She went on to summarize a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to define the DMH’s goals: “If you can’t run, you can walk, if you can’t walk, you can crawl, but you need to get where you’re going…. keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll run our way to hope, wellness, and well-being.”
For all of the gratitude that comes his way, Harvey is consistent in the massive credit he directs to his partners for the significant time and energy they have generously given to making the second 5k for $5k a reality.
“Huge, huge recognition to the team and all the volunteers that we had,” he said, citing the CRC community’s willingness to step up in getting the word out and filling in for practical tasks around setting up for the race. “None of this would have been possible without the crew and different volunteers and everybody in the running community blasting it and letting people know what we’re trying to do in the City of Compton.”
As a due celebration and recovery time have come Harvey’s way since race day, he emphasizes how none of the achievements enjoyed by the CRC community, the scholarship recipients, and the City of Compton would happen without his family.
“They deserve a lot of credit for the event happening as well,” said Harvey, speaking to Shanola and Peyton. “Being out there and actually helping the day-of by volunteering, but even before that, in helping with putting together bags, and floating ideas…. I just have a lot of appreciation and gratitude.”
Indeed, the passion is shared in the Harvey household.
“And they love it,” said Harvey. “Everything that people thank me for they should be thanking them for as well because they play a major role in it as well.”
Though the question might seem a bit early to ask, many have wondered what is in store for 2024, even speaking of interest in pushing the distance up to 10k.
Harvey’s signature openness to new experiences and challenges is an enormous part of what has grown the 5k for $5k as well as the Compton Run Club overall. Even so, he’s keeping his eyes on the goal that sparked the project in the first place.
“Is it going to go up to a 10k?” he wonders, “Who knows? At the end of the day, what we want to do is serve our community. We want to give back to our community, and we want to help our community.”
Whether there will be a third Compton Run Club 5k for $5k is beyond debate, however, according to Harvey.
“Next year, expect a scholarship fundraiser,” he said. “I don’t what the distance is going to be, but definitely expect it.”
Donations for the 5k for $5k are still being accepted here. Compton Run Club (@comptonrunclub) meets every Saturday at Patria Coffee Roasters on Alameda Street in Compton at 7:45am.
LA Running Connoisseur 
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