ORLANDO, Fla. — Saturday, the eighth annual CommUNITY Rainbow Run brought the community together to remember and honor everyone who was impacted by the Pulse nightclub shooting.
The event was started by University of Central Florida students one year after the terrorist shooting, and the city of Orlando has since stepped in to help the festivities.
“We recover, we come back stronger. The tragedy several years ago, horrific, look at us now,” said Joe Domingues, a CommUNITY Rainbow Run Participant.
The run started right in front of Orlando’s City hall, where music and food trucks were also set up.
Runner Matthew Finnemore wasn’t the first to finish but instead accomplished his own goal.
“I feel really good. Last year I think I did about 29 minutes. I took five minutes off that which feels great,” said Finnemore.
He says on June 12, 2016, he was oversees in China working for Disney in Shanghai.
“When I heard about what happened on the news, I immediately called my best friend because him and I go to Pulse nightclub together,” said Finnemore. “First thing I asked was, ‘are you there and if you are, are you ok?’ Luckily, he told me that he had would’ve worked the next morning, so he didn’t go. But it was news all over the place.”
He says the moment he got back to the states; he visited the site which is now a memorial.
“The best thing about supporting one another is that it builds a community and if you don’t have a community (...) then you’re doomed to fail,” said Finnemore. “The best thing about this community here, they brought me in with open arms.”
The route began at City Hall and continued south on Orange Avenue to the Pulse site. Runners then circled back around and finished right back at City Hall.
The event ended with a community festival.
