Created to Run | Unapologetic Apologetics

In 2006, we organized a charity run to help build the Creation Museum. The race actually began as an idea with the working title, “Run for Christ’s Sake,” since it was after all a benefit run for the cause of Christ. However, my wife cautioned me that not everybody may share in my sense of humor. So, we decided upon the final name of “Created to Run” for this 7K race.

For those of you who are not runners, a 7K race (4.34 miles) is uncommon. You’ll normally see a lot of 5K races, but we wanted to give people an additional reason to run, tied in with the Biblical number of perfection (7) and to also introduce the Creation Museum to as many people as possible.

Even though we contracted through a local race organizer, there was still a tremendous amount of work involved. Surprisingly, many in the Christian community did not welcome the opportunity to participate. In fact, I was disappointed that many churches took an isolationist position, in that if it was not something initiated by them, they wouldn’t participate. (I guess they just want to keep as much money as possible inside their building. No wonder attendance in their denominations are dwindling!) Fortunately, there were enough Christians who understand what it means to actually be a part of the Body of Christ and were receptive to the event. The local AM Christian talk radio station, 880 WRFD, kindly served as our media partner. Even some secular businesses were kind enough to donate to the event!

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Another eye-opener was the intolerance of some pre-believers. (I say pre-believers, because even as athiests or agnostics, they will eventually believe once they meet Christ in eternity – even though at that point, it will be too late for them to be saved.) If there is a race that supports a cause you don’t care about or don’t like, it would be logical to just not run that race. However, the race organizer that we contracted with for the run actually received hate mail! (Not for sponsoring the race, but just for even agreeing to organize it for us.) Below is a sampling with the name removed to protect the guilty:

Near the Finish Line!

“…I am appalled and disappointed that you are supporting “Created to Run”. This benefits the so-called Creation Museum, which is an anti-science “museum” meant to promote the fundamentalist Christian anti-evolution ideology. The museum’s website is full of incorrect information and pro-creationist propaganda. I have done many runs with you over the last couple of years, thereby giving lots of money to the causes you have supported, and one thing I have always been happy about is the fact that the causes you support are apolitical. I believe, and thought you agreed, that there is no need to introduce divisive issues into the Columbus running community, which is such a friendly community. Now it seems that either you have made a commitment to a particular political/anti-science point of view that you are trying to foist on Columbus runners, or else you may have been unaware of what this group is doing. I’d like to know which of these possible scenarios is accurate, because it will determine whether I do any more runs with you in the future.”

Preliminary Race Logo

The Forbidden Logo

We received the honor of being the first run for which this organizer ever received any hate mail. It was a perfect example of how offensive the cross is to those who are perishing.

The only instance of evolution actually being true, involved the race logo itself. The initial working logo appears on a shirt above. Adam & Eve were then featured on the alternate version. However, some jokingly suggested that a shirt like this may encourage streaking. So, the final and less tempting version appears on the top of this page.

The race took place in Central Ohio and we had people come from as far as Arizona for this charity run, which raised around $5,000. Thanks to all who assisted, attended, participated, donated, sponsored and volunteered!

Female and Male overall winners: Allison Grace (6:04 pace) and Darrel Davison (6:22 pace)

Below is a radio interview from WRFD with Ken Ham, promoting the event: