Maud 2.23 run in Durham aims to open conversations about racism

A run Saturday in Durham not only got people moving, but got them talking as well.

The Maud 2.23 run took place in Durham Saturday. The event was also held in several other cities in the state, including Raleigh, Fayetteville, Greensboro and High Point.

This is the third year of the run, which was started in the wake of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in a residential neighborhood in Georgia.

Georgia man was chased and killed while jogging, his mother says

The run was organized by Together We Stand NC. Fullsteam Brewery and Boxyard RTP partnered with the group as well.

"[The run is] to remember that racism and hate still exist in this country still, in this day and age," said Together We Stand NC founder Tyrone Irby.

However, that's not what Irby saw during the run today.

"They are all different area, different genders, different races," Irby said.

One of those runners, Carr Cody, said the video will always stay with him.

Cody is the same age Arbery was when he was killed. He said what happened to Arbery was "unconscionable," and a hard reminder that people don't move through life the same.

"That happened to him in a way that would not have happened to me," Cody said. "I think back to all the times I have been running and felt safe in the spaces I have been in."

Irby said while the run is important, it's also important to use these events to communicate about racism and their differences in small groups.

"[It's important] to sit down with each other and talk and have a beer, and just communicate," Irby said.