The sun was beaming May 19 as RFE/RL colleagues joined the throngs of eager runners at Prague’s Stromovka park for the eighth annual Fun & Run charity run against homophobia.
Organized by Prague Pride, a Czech NGO promoting LGBT rights, Fun & Run 2018 brought together more than 500 runners to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, observed on May 17. On this day in 1990, the World Health Organization erased homosexuality from its official list of mental illnesses.
Runners this year raised 116,000 Czech crowns (approximately $5,180). All proceeds from the event went to an LGBT peer-to-peer mentoring website managed by Prague Pride and The Lighthouse, a center for HIV positive clients.
“It was my first public race, and it was a great experience to do good while having fun with colleagues,” said Tatiana Chytilova from RFE/RL’s Human Resources Department, who successfully finished her first ever 5 km race in under 30 minutes.
“A willingness to move and a pair of good shoes is all it takes to become a runner,” said RFE/RL’s Senior Human Resources Manager Zoltan Izlandy.