Courage Day 5K

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
- Nelson Mandela

Join us for our annual 5K and Kids' Fun Run, celebrating the warrior in all of us. Our 5K and Fun Run is held at beautiful Franklin Park in Western Loudoun County, VA. Franklin Park boasts 200+ acres of rolling hills and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is a trail course, while not technical, it is also not paved. This is a fun morning for all. 

The Courage Closet is a 501(c)3) organization and is dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse in Northern Virginia. Our donations help ensure all survivors are treated with dignity and respect, have access to compassionate medical care, and state-of-the-art evidence collection.

Our founder and leader, Liz Sands, was kidnapped and raped on April 17, 1999, at the age of 17. Following her attack, her family proclaimed April 17th her "Courage Day", a celebration of her survival. Her family held a party with family and friends on the first anniversary of her attack and has celebrated every year since.

This is a family-friendly event! In addition to the 5k, we will also have a kids' fun run and a Tot Trot! Tot Trot is a short sprint and is a free event for toddlers with an adult registration.  We are thrilled to have you join us!

We also have a virtual 5k and fun run option if you are unable to join us in person. We have had virtual runners as far as Kenya and Japan!

Race location: 
Franklin Park
17501 Franklin Park Dr
Purcellville, VA 20132

Date:
Sunday, April 26, 2026

Event schedule:
7:45 - race day packet pickup starts
8:45 - Fun Run
9:00 - 5K
10:00 (when 5K is done) - Tot Trot

Registration fees: 
5K: $30 through February 28
      $35 March 1 through April 22
      $40 April 23-Race Day - online registration will close on race day (April 26) at 8:00 am. 

Fun Run: $15 through Thursday, April 22 
              $20 April 23 through race day
              Fun Run participants will receive a shirt and kid's medal

Tot Trot: FREE and sign up will be on race day, and you will receive a medal only.

Virtual 5: $40 if picking up a packet. There will be a small fee for shipping if needed.

Packet pick up will be at the =PR= Leesburg store on Friday, April 24 from 3-6pm, then again on race day, at Franklin Park starting at 7:45 am. Participants are encouraged to pick up their packet before race day. Shipping is also an option for Virtual Event option only for a small fee. 

Awards for the live event will be given to the top 3 overall Male & Female finishers 12 & Over and the top 3 boys and girls 11 & under.

All proceeds will go directly to The Courage Closet.
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This is our 7th annual 5K. To date, the Courage Day 5K is our largest fundraiser. We aim to raise $20,000 from the 5K to support survivors through the INOVA FACT department. The Inova Ewing Forensic Assessment and Consultation Teams address the unique needs of abused children and adults. They offer expert medical evaluation, forensic evidence collection, and provide expert interpretation based on training, experience, and medical data. The majority of the department's funding is philanthropic. The department receives very little reimbursement from the state. 

Top 5 areas of need:

     **Additional staffing- with 3 full-time, 4 part-time and 5 PRNs (essentially "on-call" staff) there is a great need to bring on more providers. Due to staffing shortages the Cornwall Location (Loudoun County) is not currently staffed 24/7 - it would cost approximately $115,000/ year to have a full-time nurse at Cornwall- long term goal is to get this location staffed full time to ensure patients are not having to travel to other locations for exams - they can be seen locally and know support is never too far away.

      **Patient Assistance - this is a broad category of need, but one that is so vital - from meals for a patient during their 3–5-hour exam ($50) to Lyft rides to ensure patients are able to get to and from appointments/medications/safe places ($250/ 5 rides) to covering the cost of essential HIV medications ($2500) - this area of need is always growing as the number of cases increases.

     **Equipment Maintenance - the FACT Department uses Cortexflo technology during the examination process. There are so many amazing benefits to this technology and how it allows the providers to complete their exams more efficiently and as non-intimidating as possible {especially for children}. However, having the best technology comes at a cost - one camera costs ~ $20,000-25,000, and the maintenance is ~$10,000-$15,000/year.

     **Team Resiliency - the weight the FACT nurses/doctors carry on a daily basis is often hard to fully grasp as they go from one trauma to another. Vicarious trauma (secondary trauma) is a real concern/issue and has only become worse in recent years. The increase in both case load and severity has led to an increase in burnout and low morale. We have been able to provide funding for team-building events/group outings this year and hope to continue that into 2023. We understand how much mental health matters, and giving this wonderful team opportunities to get together outside of work is vital. $500 easily covers a team outing/get-together.

     **Professional development - oftentimes continuing education/professional development opportunities are not part of the budget, thus becoming a personal expense for an individual. Being able to help fund opportunities for the team to attend seminars/conferences that will grow their skill sets and allow them to provide even better care is essential to the department continuing to be one of the best in the nation.

$1,000 can provide the forensic nurses with a variety of professional development opportunities.