Plans to complete an expansion of the gym at the Run the Race Club in Columbus’ Hilltop neighborhood by the end of the summer are continuing despite several incidents of vandalism.
The most recent occurrence took place on April 25 when the job site trailer was set afire. Construction workers saw the trailer burning when they arrived in the morning and put out the blaze before it caused major damage.
“That was the fourth time the site has been broken into since work began” on July 28 of last year, said construction manager Bryan Hamilton. “We’ve had computers, TV sets, tools and all sorts of other things taken. We set up wooden barriers, but those were ineffective, so we’ll be using stronger material.”
Hamilton said the fire would set completion of the project back by about a week but anticipated that work would be finished before fall.
“Over the years, there have been a few thefts from the club building, and it’s always shocking and disappointing,” said Run the Race founder Rachel Muha. “It’s just a heartbreaking thing for the inner-city kids we serve.
“This one was especially hard-hitting because the people in our neighborhood know what we do and the effect it has on the Hilltop and its children. Yet people come in the middle of the night, back up a truck and steal things from the construction site, and now try to burn the whole thing down,” she said.
“This just strengthens my resolve to continue to teach children that there’s a better way of life and to work that much harder to show them that education is so important and that God always loves them. The fire saddens me but doesn’t make me despair.”
Muha started the Run the Race organization in 2005 as part of The Brian Muha Foundation, founded in 2000 in memory of her son Brian, one of two young Franciscan University of Steubenville students shot to death in a wooded area in Pennsylvania after being taken at gunpoint from their home on May 31, 1999.
The Run the Race Club began in 2005 in the basement of Columbus Holy Family Church. Constant growth resulted in several relocations before it found a permanent home in a former elementary school at 880 S. Wayne Ave. It opened in 2012 after a year of renovations.
Its mission is to give love and hope to children through relationships with dedicated volunteers, mentors and tutors who offer opportunities and activities that allow them to grow academically, physically, spiritually and emotionally.
It offers a full meal every day, plus snacks, tutoring, homework help, sports, music, art, tumbling, games, contests, parties, holiday celebrations, a library and a salon. It also provides take-home meals and makes clothing and furniture available to families.
Muha said it serves different groups of children during the school year. “We have about 20 to 25 that come in during the school day for tutoring or other reasons,” she said. “Our after-school activities usually bring in more than 60, and we’ll have 100 or more for special occasions.”
Much of the after-school activity is centered around the gym. Hamilton said the 4,200-square-foot gym expansion will give the building a high school regulation-size basketball court and allow other amenities to be included.
During the spring, summer and fall, Run the Race also gives children a chance to visit its 8-acre farm in Galloway, which has a farmhouse, several barns, fruit trees, a vegetable garden, a treehouse, a zip line, climbing ropes and ample room for playing and roaming.
Muha said Hamilton’s company renovated the farmhouse last summer, and several pieces of play equipment have been added to help children enjoy outdoor space they can’t find at home.
The Run the Race Club has an endowment managed by the Catholic Foundation to which contributions may be made at any time. To donate or for more information, go to https://catholic-foundation.org/about/partnerships/nonprofit-partnerships/run-race-club.