KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Runners laced up their shoes for a good cause on Sunday during First Baptist Church of Kingsport’s ‘The Second Mile’ race, formerly known as the Amazing Grace 5k.
The event aims to raise money for Providence Medical Clinic, a volunteer ministry in Kingsport that provides free medical care to those in need. All proceeds from the race directly benefit the clinic, according to church leaders.
“Providence Medical Clinic is one of the ways we try to serve our community by offering medical services and care to people who might not be able to afford it otherwise,” said Minister of Students at First Baptist Church of Kingsport, Caleb Creel. “And so we do The Second Mile in order to help support the work that they do to reach people in our community.”
Marvin Cameron, the Senior Pastor of the church, told News Channel 11 that 186 community members showed up to participate in support of the clinic.
“Our church has had the Amazing Grace 5-K for a number of years. But this year we’ve revamped as The Second Mile, two-mile race, and we’ve loved having this event over the years. And there’s a lot of construction going on at Main Street.”
This year, the event underwent a revamp due to construction on its original route. That didn’t stop the First Baptist Church of Kingsport, however, as organizers said they took this as an opportunity to rebrand the event as the ‘The Second Mile’, which is a biblical reference.
“We still wanted to be able to do this event,” Creel said. “So we rerouted it to a two-mile course. There’s also not very many official two-mile races where you could try to set a state record. So we wanted to do that, but we’re excited to have The Second Mile, which of course draws from the Biblical reference to going the Second Mile to serve others.”
