Serena Williams leads first Ultimate Run event

The Serena Williams Ultimate Run South Beach is an event with a name that requires as much of a deep breath to say as that which its 5K demands. To her credit, the No. 1 women's tennis player in the world took part in the Miami-based race, as did sister Venus Williams. The event arrived with its website offering this sort of amusing advice under the heading "Celebrities": "If you get lucky and are running with Serena] on the course, please be courteous but also say hi! Selfies welcome, stalking prohibited." Based on [images that have circulated so far from the event, that encouragement seems to have been heeded by those participating.

All proceeds from the run are said to benefit the Serena Williams Fund, which aids victims of violent crime. Serena and Venus's half-sister, Yetunde Price, was shot to death in Compton, California, in September 2003 at age 31. She was the oldest of their mother Oracene Price's five daughters.

"I had never ran that far in my life, so it was definitely something that I wanted to do," Serena said after the quarter-marathon race's six-plus miles. It's rather incredible, actually, that—in all her training to date, and in light of how fit and fast she has been over her career—she had never before run five kilometers (3.1 miles).

Hardly a full marathon, a la that run by Serena's crony Caroline Wozniacki. However, at ages 33 and 34, and with so many contemporaries retiring once or even twice each before them, it could be said that the Williams sisters have conquered their own sort of marathon. Every match and every public opportunity that they take to make a difference at this point, it's as if they're saying, We're still here. Good on them.

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