Throughout May, Bostonians can find events all across the city in celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander, or AANHPI, Heritage Month. From the Panda Fest to movie screenings at the Boston Public Library, there’s something for everyone. For Boston’s running community, their celebration of choice is a 5K.
On May 17, Boston Road Runners hosted its fourth annual AAPI 5K in the South End along the Harborwalk, partnering with Moderna, a Cambridge-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. In addition to the race in Boston, major cities across the country hosted AAPI 5Ks, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.
“I’m hoping that this event will help encourage other young minds, business owners, event organizers, managers, people with time, energy and resources [to be] willing to create more events and programs for the AAPI community,” said Anthony Loui, the event director of the AAPI 5K and Boston Road Runners.
Loui strives for the AAPI 5K to not only celebrate Asian runners but also serve as a form of resistance, emphasizing the presence of Asian athletes in a predominantly white sport.
With the primary goal of the race being to increase recognition of local AAPI nonprofits, everyone, including runners and non-runners, is encouraged to donate to organizations and volunteer. Some of the organizations supported by the 5K include the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence and Asian Women for Health.
“The 5K is a special event because we do not spam people to donate. People just want to donate and support the AAPI 5K,” Loui said. “While $9,000, I think, is not a lot of money, it’s $9,000 that people donate because they want to, not from endless calls, emails, messaging or pressure.”
The course ran along the Harborwalk in the South End, with the race beginning at the Metropolitan District Commission Pavilion and ending at the University of Massachusetts in Boston’s Harborwalk park.
This year’s event was also the first time the organizers offered Asian cuisine as a post-run treat, including banh mis, a Vietnamese sandwich, sparkling drinks and Chinese bao and buns.
“Every single year, we try to make [the event] a little bit more about the AAPI community, heritage and cuisines,” Loui said. “Even the music playlist is 100% AAPI artists.”
Loui first started hosting the running events in 2022. For him, the annual AAPI 5K helps create a comfortable and encouraging space for the Asian running community, especially following the COVID pandemic.
“I’m hoping that other events and programs pop up because of this,” Loui said. “I would love to see an AAPI cycling event, an AAPI golfing event, an AAPI swimming event, an AAPI volunteering event.”
Starting at 8:30 a.m., the Metropolitan District Commission Pavilion was filled with the laughter and chit-chat of runners getting ready to run the 5K and friends and family cheering on the sidelines.
“It was really amazing to run with so many AAPI folks. I feel like, in Boston, it’s not that common. You kinda have to go to Fields Corner or Chinatown to feel a sense of the Asian community in a public space,” said Maria Gerdyman, a design gym experiential prototyper at The Design Studio for Social Intervention and a runner in the 5K. “It was very moving just to see everybody trying their best. Everyone here are immigrants with different kinds of documents too, different experiences here.”
Melana Ly, a rising fourth-year mechanical engineering major at Northeastern, decided to run because her brother encouraged her.
“My brother texted me saying, ‘You should do this [run],’ because he is in New York, which is my home. And he told me, ‘You should do the one in Boston, and [the race] is supporting Asian people. As an Asian, you gotta support your own people,’” Ly said. “Just seeing your own people push forward to help each other, it’ll make you more motivated to do more and do your best to help.”
More than a race, the AAPI 5K was a celebration of identity, culture and a testament to the power of community through the love of sport.
“I’m glad I finished it, and I’m glad that I could say ‘I did it,’” Ly said. “Everyone’s pushing hard, and everyone was very encouraging.”
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