Runners race through the capital for mental health and healing.

When Matt Chinn decided he wanted to create a non-profit race, despite having zero experience in race planning, he walked to High Rise Bakery, opened his laptop, and searched for information on how to plan a non-profit race. In May of 2022, the first Capital City Race began.

Although Matt had the hopeful expectation of 100 runners, twice that number showed up and donated to a fundamental cause. The race was created after the passing of Jared Palmer, a good friend of Matt’s, who sadly lost his battle with mental health struggles and substance misuse in October of 2021. Jared left behind two children, George and Ellen, and Matt wanted to do something to honor their father.

At the beginning of 2021, Matt learned what was happening to Jared; he was unfortunately all too familiar with what his friend was going through. When his family and pledge brothers found out Jared was unemployed, had moved out of state, and was homeless in Florida, they came up with a plan to get him the medical treatment and rehabilitation he needed. Matt decided to run 20 miles a day for the entire month of February and started a GoFundMe page. Throughout the month, he ran 569.4 miles and raised $11,000, all of which went to Jared’s medical care and treatment. The two talked every day at 4 a.m. during Jared’s challenge, but it wasn’t until the last day of the challenge that Matt informed Jared that all the money he raised was going to his care.

“Jared and I shared a good cry, and he was speechless,” Matt says.

Unfortunately, Jared’s new outlook on a sober life was short, and Matt soon got a call that Jared had taken his own life. This news pushed Matt to do more, not just for Jared, but for all those who struggle with their mental health and with substance misuse.

“I reached out to Judge Cotton Walker and the Cole County Treatment Court Team to ask for their help and blessing in this endeavor,” Matt says. “They were very excited by the idea and have stood by my side throughout the race planning process since its beginning.”

The initial plan was to donate $5,000 to Jared’s kids’ education fund. The other $5,000 would go to the Cole County Treatment Court to assist the program and its participants in their journey to sobriety. Capital City Race has since expanded its reach to a yearly donation to Valley Hope Rehab Facility in Booneville, Missouri, and has also assisted with halfway housing for people getting back on their feet. Matt Chinn has now been added to the local critical intervention team for Mid-Missouri as someone with lived experiences.

The event features three races: a 5k, a 10k, and a half-marathon. All three races start and finish at the Missouri State Capitol, first heading east through downtown, then around Riverside Park, past Lincoln University and The LINC, and finally back through the downtown area. For those who dare to take on the half-marathon route, runners venture across the Missouri bridge to the access point of the Katy Trail and then return to the Capitol for the finish line.

“The turnout has allowed us to have a further outreach to common causes in the local community,” Matt says. “As the creator and the person who envisioned this when there was nothing but a blank page, I am beyond grateful and humbled by the outreach and support this race has created.”

As someone who has struggled himself, Matt knows some people need to hear another person’s struggle to confirm what they have been thinking all along.

“The best part of the race is the random people I get to meet who tell me that my story helped them get clean and sober,” Matt says. “The first-time experiences for new runners, runners picking a longer distance race from year to year, all in the name of someone they know who struggles or struggled and is no longer with us, is unlike anything I can describe with words.”

Learn More

Capital City Race 2026: Saturday, May 9 at the Missouri State Capitol
Registration (open through 6 a.m. on race day)
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