Today we’d like to introduce you to Freddie Irby.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Clueless to all things running, I began my running journey in earnest in 2010 by slow-jogging around Washington, DC in Reebok Classics and cotton sweatpants. However, by years end I completed my first marathon (Marine Corps Marathon) and was surprised to learn how much I had taken to the sport. Ironically, it was less the physical benefits of running that struck a chord, but rather the clarity of mind provided during and after a run that created what has now become essential outlet for me, changing my life immeasurably for the better.
In 2020, I co-founded Juneteenth Marathon–a 501(c)(3) non-profit that seeks to leverage the collective resources of the DC and Baltimore running communities to help improve the local communities/localities to which they belong and, in doing so, their individual lives. Juneteenth Marathon was conceived out of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in response to the mass cancellation of all distance running events worldwide. Despite the unrest and uncertainty of this unprecedented moment in time, many distance runners still wished to partake in an organized (yet unofficial), socially-distanced and responsibly-safe running event, if only as a way to grasp onto some semblance of normalcy during this otherwise fraught moment in time. Collectively, they decided to leverage this unique moment to come together as a unified running community and create their own running marathon event, coursing through the streets and pathways of our Nation’s Capital. The Inaugural ‘Juneteenth Marathon’ was held on June 13, 2020, honoring the upcoming June 19th Juneteenth holiday by collectively running, literally and figuratively, the marathon they collectively organized. And, in keeping with Juneteenth tradition, a red-themed Juneteenth celebration cookout was held immediately thereafter.
The following year (2021), the race relocated to a course uniquely and appropriately centered around the Juneteenth holiday: The Civil War Defenses of Washington Trail–a 6.2mi, off-street unpaved National Park Service-maintained trail connecting five historic Civil War Fort sites between the Anacostia and Deanwood neighborhoods of Washington, DC’s Ward 7 and Ward 8. In doing so, the race was ‘resized’ to the ‘Juneteenth Half Marathon & 10K’ given the 6.2mi length of the trail. The annual race has been held at this location every year since. This year’s event (2026) boasted 1100+ registrants, 150+ volunteers, 15 local vendors — at $0 cost to all participants. Over the years, the Juneteenth Half Marathon & 10K has become a landmark running event for the region, attracting both runners and sponsors from across the nation, including Altra, REI Co-op, Arc’teryx, Lululemon and Harris Teeter. What began as a small gathering of friends and members of the running community has blossomed into a formally organized event, drawing hundreds of participants from around the world and garnering support from local businesses, national organizations and global corporations/sponsors alike.
On a personal running note, I have my sights set on completing two running goals by 2028: 1) Run a sub-3-hour marathon, and 2) Complete each of the original six Abbott World Marathon Majors: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago & New York. To date, I have completed 4 of the 6 world marathon majors (Berlin, New York, Tokyo & London–where I ran my marathon personal record of 3:18:47).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. To name a few…
–Limited of operational funding for our non-profit organization (“RunJuneteenth”).
–Limited capacity (time-wise) for our operations team to handle the myriad of tasks associated with running the organization and its programming.
–Managing relatively high attrition rates (registration-to-attendance) that come with organizing free events
–Operating in spaces (and oftentimes locations) in which we are among the first to venture–which inevitably leads to direct and indirect “pioneering costs” that rarely are recouped in the near term
But we love doing this so its “all in a days work” as they say.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
RunJuneteenth runs free, year-round trail programming throughout the Mid-Atlantic region:
• Juneteenth Half Marathon & 10K — Our flagship event. This annual free trail race on the Civil War Defenses of Washington Trail traverses six miles of National Park Service land east of the Anacostia River in DC’s Wards 7 and 8. Our 2026 event brought out 1195 registrants and 657 finishers across both races. For many participants it is their first organized race, first 10K or half marathon, first trail race, or first visit to the trail entirely. The event is our flagship as it not only brings together the many disparate running communities throughout the region, but it also serves to remove the cost and awareness barriers that keep people — particularly low-income residents of DC’s Wards 7 and 8 — from running and outdoor recreation by shining a bright spotlight on the trail via this free race (half marathons typically run $100–$180).
2026 Juneteenth Half & 10K Videos:
–2026 Race Recap – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RQJ2bsEOOuNWcjNxP_Sob3Bz11CmPlBt/view?usp=drive_link
–2026 Race Promo – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lUA5MWVwH9z0TFQrx0Oqxb6AjcbIetVR/view?usp=drive_link
• Altra Trail Running Grant — one-on-one coaching from an RRCA Level 1 certified coach, a personalized 12-week plan built for our half marathon course (1,300’+ of gain), plus shoes and apparel from Altra Running, awarded to runners entirely new to trail.
• Plogging the Trails — a spring run-and-clean series co-organized with local run clubs throughout the region. In 2026, we partnered with 13 clubs across 13 events from Baltimore, MD to Richmond & Charlottesville, VA. The resulting impact: 311 ploggers, 393 bags of trash, 54.6 miles of trail covered.
PTT ’26 Videos:
–PTT ’26 Recap – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hddTjxXayNYS_ISCtYNbpbK9ZrnpnMQu/view?usp=drive_link
–PTT ’26 Promo – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpjB8M33CzqZlBKzA0VFSeay0CZoBS5C/view?usp=drive_link
• Winter Trail Series — casual, all-levels trail meetups across DC, Maryland and Virginia from December through February, with free trail-shoe demos, so the lack of gear, lack of trail awareness and lack of an outdoor community are all removed as obstacles to getting people outdoors…especially in the wintertime.
WTS ’25-26 Videos:
–WTS ‘25-26 Kick-Off – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wsq7AeVnCUOsjIvVT4qeu9WR1p5YnRvJ/view?usp=drive_link
–WTS ’25-26 Promo – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rC42V18Fm8saRUhrYL19abmd6HdS20XC/view?usp=drive_link
I especially would like to highlight RunJuneteenth’s newest program: the Sub-3 Initiative – RunJuneteenth’s initiative to dramatically increase the number of African-American runners who have run an official marathon in under 3 hours (currently less than 300). This fall, our inaugural cohort of 12 Black distance runners from seven cities — including founders and captains of clubs like District Running Collective and St. Louis Run Crew — will partake in a 16-week training block to run ‘sub-3’ at California International Marathon on December 6. Their journey will be documented from training start to finish line: daily athlete intros are rolling out on our Instagram through the end of August 2026 (https://instagram.com/runjuneteenth), building to a long-form documentary following the race in December. Watch the Sub-3 Initiative launch video here — https://www.instagram.com/runjuneteenth/reel/DcLxxdFxiBZ/ and learn more about the Sub-3 Initiative here — https://www.runjuneteenth.org/sub-3-initiative
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Just get out there. More likely than not, whatever you feel are the chances things could go wrong are vastly overestimated and the chances things could go right are VASTLY underestimated. You can never anticipate the unknown opportunities that may come about.
Also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdbeeXnym8&t=1532s (link should start the clip at 25:32 mark)
Pricing:
- Every One
- Of Our
- Events Are
- FREE…
- …AND we feed you (literally)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://runjuneteenth.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runjuneteenth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@runjuneteenth
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM_k7CJZZfkw
