ORLANDO, Fla. – Hundreds of people gathered in Downtown Orlando Saturday morning to run a 4.9K race in honor of the lives lost one year ago in the Pulse tragedy.
Runners came together to tackle the course that began at Wadeview Park, wrapped through several downtown streets, passed Pulse nightclub and ended back at the park. They celebrated their diverse backgrounds that brought the community together to heal during the days that followed the tragedy.
The race, called the "CommUNITY Rainbow Run," began at 8 a.m. and benefited the Zebra Coalition, an organization that offers services to LGBT+ youth who are at risk or in need of safe haven, and the OnePULSE Foundation, which was founded by Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma, according to the Facebook event page.
Participants honored the 49 who were killed with 49 seconds of silence before the race.
[PHOTOS: Central Florida remembers Pulse one year later]
Those who wanted to participate but were not in Orlando were invited to register for a virtual run, which was packaged with a gift and mailed to the virtual runner's home.
Community leaders, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, showed their support by attending Saturday's race. Poma also stood in front of Pulse waving a sign as runners passed by that read "We will not let hate win."
Poma said community members will continue to lean on each other as they honor the lives lost at Pulse.
"So that the people whose lives were taken that night will never be lost in vain," Poma said. "Orlando will always show how united we are."
Event organizers included the following statement in the race's description, expressing why the race was important to the community:
"Much like the human body relies on many systems to maintain a steady pulse, at the heart of a community is a vast group of diverse individuals who comprise all the necessary elements a community needs to thrive."
One runner told News 6 that trying to find the positive through so much negative has helped her heal.
Amy Pelletier said the tragedy at Pulse was close to her heart and left her very upset, but the way the community responded by coming together in the days after has really touched her.
Another runner said the race showed how united the community has become since the tragedy.
"You hate events like that that happened," Dallas Wilkes said. "Then you find the silver lining and hope that that continues and this is just one evidence of that."
Commissioner Sheehan is proud of her city for finding purpose in its pain.
"It just really means so much. A horrible tragedy that has brought so many people together and how all these people are giving back," Sheehan said.