GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – The death of Eliza Fletcher when she disappeared at the start of an early-morning run in Memphis last week has inspired runners across the country to honor her by gathering at the time she last was seen and finishing that run she had begun.

Eliza Fletcher (Memphis Police Department)

Greensboro will be one of the places where runners – predominantly women – rise early on Friday to “Finish Liza’s Run” and bring awareness to violence against women who run alone.

Fletcher, 34, a teacher, a mother and an heir, was abducted at 4:30 a.m. last Friday near the University of Memphis. Her body was found Monday afternoon, and a man has been arrested and charged with her murder.

The idea to “finish her run” began in Memphis, where thousands will gather at that spot at 4:30 a.m. to remember Fletcher, the moment life changed for her loved ones and to reinforce that her killing represents for runners everywhere.

Michele Brooks, a veteran distance runner who lives in northern Guilford County, is organizing a parallel event in Greensboro to remember Fletcher and run the 4 miles she had been planning to cover that morning.

“I know this has happened before,” Brooks said. “But something caught me this time. I’m sick and tired of doing nothing. So I hit the button and started sharing.”

She posted on groups such as RunnerDude, Run The Boro and the Greensboro Runners Club – stores such as Fleet Feet, anything she could think – asking runners (not just women) to gather at 5 a.m. in front of the Lululemon in  Friendly Center (3326 West Friendly Avenue).

There will be a moment of silence at 5:20, she said, and then runners will cover a 4-mile loop east on Friendly Avenue to Market Street and back.

“All running paces are welcome,” Brooks said.

She said she heard about groups around the country doing similar events, and that prompted her not only to celebrate Fletcher’s running life but also to raise awareness about the dangers for runners, particularly women. These are dangers she said she well understands.

Memphis police officers search an area where a body had been found in South Memphis, Tenn., near Victor Street and East Person Ave., Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Police in Tennessee said Tuesday, Sept. 6, they had found the body of a Memphis woman abducted during a pre-dawn run, confirming fears that Eliza Fletcher was killed after she was forced into an SUV on Friday morning. Cleotha Abston has been charged with kidnapping and murder in the case. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)

Brooks, who says she is a grandmother who has been running for most of her life, competes in “ultra” events – those really long ones – and to train she runs five or six days a week and covers at least 50 miles. Many of those runs are alone, and some are before sunrise and after sunset.

“I used to be a lone runner. A lot of people run alone,” she said. “I ran 31 miles by myself on trails through Greensboro. Then I signed up with running groups.”

And, as Brooks said, there is a history of violence against women who are out on trails and streets. ABC News pulled together a list of at least six women in recent years who have been killed while running on their city or neighborhood streets.

They include “Sydney Sutherland, 25, whose body was discovered two days after she disappeared after going for a run in Jackson County, Arkansas; Mollie Tibbetts, who was found stabbed to death after going for a run near her Iowa home; Wendy Martinez, who was stabbed to death while jogging in a busy, well-lit area of Washington, D.C.; Karina Vetrano, who was found dead after going on an evening jog near her New York home; Vanessa Marcotte, who was killed as she was out jogging in broad daylight in Massachusetts; and Ally Brueger, who was shot in the back while running in Michigan.”

The hashtag #ElizaFletcher on Twitter includes dozens of testimonials from women who run alone, who share how they have identified with Fletcher’s fate, about how they fear being attacked while running. They discuss vulnerability and frustration.

Brooks said Thursday afternoon that about 60 runners – women and men – had signed up (there is no fee) to participate in Greensboro.

“To stand in solidarity with those women [in Memphis] who are going out and run that same course that she ran,” she said.

“This is a ‘heart moment.’ We’re picking up at the moment when the lives of her family changed – at 4:20 in the morning [CDT]. Her children were expecting her to return.

“It could be any of our families. We go out the door all time and run and take this [the danger] with us.”

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