CULLMAN, Ala. – More than 900 runners and walkers filled the streets around Cotton Creek Friday night for the inaugural Christina Chambers Twilight 5K, turning a memorial to a Cullman native and sports journalist into one of the largest races the city has hosted.
The Aug. 7 event honored Christina Chambers, a 2006 Cullman High School graduate, former WBRC sports reporter and avid runner who died in December 2025 at age 38.
The race began at Cotton Creek and carried participants through southwest Cullman before returning to the venue for an evening of food, activities and live music by Fly By Radio. Cotton Creek served as the central gathering point for the event.
What had initially been projected to attract 500 or more participants grew considerably as race day approached. WBRC reported Friday that organizers were expecting more than 800 runners and walkers. Post-race accounts put participation above 900.
“We had 909 registered participants for the race,” Christina’s sister, Maria Chambers Clark told The Tribune. “To see so many of our family and friends and the Cullman community out there running and walking for Christina meant the world to us. Christina made an impact on so many people and her legacy will live on.”
For those closest to Chambers, the response reflected something larger than interest in a 5K.
Nick Canaday, a friend who helped with the event, said the turnout was a reflection of the number of lives she touched.
“I think we have an unbelievable turnout, but it’s not because people love running or because we’ve done a good job. It’s because of the impact Christina had on so many people,” Canaday told WBRC.
Running was an important part of Chambers’ life, and the Twilight 5K was modeled in part after a Cullman tradition she enjoyed growing up.
Clark said the siblings regularly participated in Cullman’s Midnight Run when they were younger.
“We used to do that every year growing up when we were kids. Christina loved the Midnight Run,” Clark told WBRC. “We wanted to do it earlier in the night so more people could come and have a party.”
Clark told The Cullman Tribune before the race that organizing the event involved far more than simply staging another road race.
“It’s taken a strong team of people working selflessly and tackling obstacles as they arose to put on this event,” she said. “It’s a somewhat complex project to put on a race, but it’s a whole different ballgame when trying to properly honor someone as loved as Christina.”
That effort extended across local businesses, sponsors, volunteers, public safety agencies and Chambers’ former colleagues.
Cotton Creek promoted the event as a celebration of Chambers’ love of running and hosted the gathering beginning before the 8 p.m. start.
“We would like to thank John Riley and Cullman Savings Bank,” Clark said. “Thank you to all the sponsors who helped make this event possible. We were overwhelmed by the amount of support the Cullman community provided by showing up for the event to honor Christina and made it such a special night.”
Clark continued, “We would like to thank the Cullman cross country team and soccer team for showing up and helping set up and the Cullman baseball and football teams for working the course and bringing such great energy. We would also like to thank the police, road department, EMS and Augusta’s for the water station and Desperation (Church) for helping with parking.”
WBRC, where Chambers previously worked, also served as an event sponsor, and several of her former colleagues traveled to Cullman to participate.
WBRC’s Clare Huddleston described the evening afterward as “an amazing night celebrating and remembering our friend Christina Chambers.”
The race also carried a charitable purpose.
Net proceeds were designated to support Chambers’ son, Constantine, and local charitable causes, including The Willow Path, a Cullman nonprofit serving survivors of domestic violence.
Clark said before the event that the family also wanted the race to begin a broader conversation about domestic violence and its effects on families and communities.
Christina’s brother, Tim Chambers, said the support shown for Constantine was among the most meaningful parts of the evening.
“The appreciation for her son Constantine. The love and support that’s being shown tonight and into the future is gonna make a big mark,” he told WBRC.
For Canaday, months spent helping organize the event also changed how he viewed the reason for participating.
“I thought I was gonna run for Christina, through doing this and seeing the impact she’s had, I realize I wanna be like Christina,” he said.
The event was announced in March as a way to celebrate Chambers’ determination, love of running and connection to Cullman.
Her parents, Tim and Mary Chambers, who operate Chambers Farm and Garden Supply in Cullman, joined Cotton Creek and other community partners in helping organize the memorial.
At the time, the family said it hoped the community would come together to run or walk in her memory.
Five months later, more than 900 people answered that invitation.
The Aug. 7 event honored Christina Chambers, a 2006 Cullman High School graduate, former WBRC sports reporter and avid runner who died in December 2025 at age 38. (Mike Witcher/The Cullman Tribune)
