K's for Z

Hello everyone!

To commemorate my brother Kazim’s birthday on May 12th, I have decided to dedicate all the running I do in the month of May to him. Kazim passed away last October due to an accidental drug overdose, falling victim to an escalating problem that claimed nearly 70,000 lives in the US in 2018.

I am asking for pledges from you to donate a certain dollar amount for every kilometer I run in the month of May (link to pledge at the bottom). The money raised by these Kilometers for Kazim, or K’s for Z, will be donated to the Drug Policy Alliance (https://www.drugpolicy.org/) who’s mission “is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies.”

With running being more of an individual sport, it can be difficult to make it about more than oneself. In normal times I've achieved this by raising up my teammates as we strive towards our goals (usually races). But being unable to run with my teammates and with races being canceled I've struggled with finding a higher purpose to run for than just individual reasons. And that is why after a lot of hard thinking (running 100 miles alone a week gives you a lot of time to think), I've come up with this fundraiser. Kazim was an incredibly hard worker and cared deeply about others, and I hope I can embody his spirit and use my running for good.

It is my goal to run 1,000 Kilometers, which is about 620 miles total and 140 miles/week. So if you pledge 10 cents/km, and I achieve my goal, your total donation will be $100. Please consider donating, and thank you for your time!