ABOUT
A 5K Run/Walk starting and ending in the beautiful Navajo Nation Veteran’s Memorial Park benefiting the Young Marines Navajo Code Talker Day Fund. This fund helps raise money for funeral expenses for the Navajo Code Talkers and help educate the Young Marines on the history of the Navajo Code Talkers.
Schedule of Events:
7:30am - 8:30am Last minute race packet pick up
9am - Race Start time
Registration Fees:
$35 for all runners and walkers
$45 for virtual runners with current 2017 Medal (includes shipping and handling of race packet, race packets will be sent out between July 1, 2017 - August 1st, 2017)
$30 for Virtual Runners with alternate medal, no shirt offered
What will registered athletes receive:
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Race t-shirt
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Race bib number with timing chip
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Finishers medal (finisher medal donations are being accepted for Wounded Warriors - see race organizer at the finish line)
Awards:
1st place 11 and under (Male & Female)
1st place 12-18 (Male & Female)
1st place 19-50 (Male & Female)
1st place 51 and up (Male & Female)
Packet pick up info:
August 12, 2017 at the Quality Inn Window Rock from 5-7pm
Last minute race packet pickup, August 13, 2017 at Navajo Nation Veteran's Memorial Park from 7:30am - 8:00am
Driving Directions:
Navajo Nation Veteran’s Memorial Park
Hwy 264 Route 12 Bldg 36A E
Window Rock, AZ 86515
Traveling from Flagstaff go East on Interstate 40 and exit North on BIA-12.
Traveling from Albuquerque, NM go West on Interstate 40 to Gallup, NM, then North onto US- 491, West on Hwy 264
Traveling from Chinle, AZ go South on US-191, then East on Hwy 264
About the Park:
This park near the Navajo Nation Administration Center features the graceful redstone arch for which the capital is named. The Navajo Nation headquarters and other government offices were built in close proximity to this mystical rock formation.
More recently, the Navajo Nation has built a Veteran's Memorial at the base of Window Rock to honor the many Navajos who served in the U. S. military. Many Navajo Marines are recognized in the annals of history for their role as Code Talkers, whereby they used the Navajo language to create a code that was never broken by the enemy. Historians credit the Navajo Code Talkers for helping to win World War II.
It is more than just your ordinary “service person’s memorial;” if you knew the story interlaced with is architectural design you would see that it is indeed something worthwhile to visit and an area every American should pay respect to. Its significance and story is one that can easily measure up to Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, endearingly called “The Wall”.
This park is significant because it was designed and built by the Navajo, it is their “living” Veteran’s Memorial. The idea for the Memorial evolved from within a group of Native Vietnam Veterans, Navajo Code Talkers, and culturally important, Navajo medicine men. After much deliberation the preliminary sketches and designs for the Memorial were drawn out.
The park has many symbolic structures: a circular path outlining the four cardinal directions, 16 angled steel pillars with the names of war veterans, and a healing sanctuary that is used for reflection and solitude that features a fountain made of sandstone.
Near the monument is the Navajo Nation Council Chambers, where the 88 council delegates discuss critical issues and enact legislation to determine the future paths of the Navajo. The circular Council Chambers features walls adorned with colorful murals depicting the history of the Navajo Nation and the Navajo way
of life.
Native vendors often sell their handmade jewelry and crafts at the park, which also makes a perfect setting for a peaceful sack lunch.