--- description: Participants in this year's 420 Games in San Fransisco rose bright and early Saturday morning for a 4.2-mile run—but some toked up first title: '420 Games' Athletes Want to Change the Perception of Weed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c73965c33db3788/69885f81f887dc4c40e91e4e/420-games-run-san-fransisco.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Drugs](/tag/drugs/) ## Drugs Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These '420 Games' Athletes Want to Change the Perception of Weed ## Video: Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids [Watch (HLS stream): Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6Ic4KUCK.m3u8) (16:16)  _Published 2014-10-21. The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. A look inside the quasi-legal, science free world of medical marijuana for children from TIME's Red Border Films_  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 16, 2015 4:51 PM CUT  Runners take off in a 4.2-mile run, part of the 420 Games, an effort to stop the stigmatization of cannabis use through athletic events, at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 15, 2015. Runners take off in a 4.2-mile run, part of the 420 Games, an effort to stop the stigmatization of cannabis use through athletic events, at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 15, 2015.Olga Rodriguez—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 16, 2015 4:51 PM CUT Participants in this year’s 420 Games in San Francisco rose bright and early Saturday morning for a 4.2-mile run—but some toked up first. High performance athletes don’t sound like the typical marijuana users, and that’s the point. The race and accompanying events were planned to change perceptions of marijuana and the people who consume it. Even as legal barriers to marijuana use continue to fall, stigma surrounding its use remain pervasive, according to the Games’ website. “The 420 Games participants are not ‘stoners,'” said Jim McAlpine, the event’s founder on its website. “The 420 Games are sporting events, NOT ‘smoke ins’.” Among the participants at the games were retired athletes who said that marijuana has helped them cope with painful injuries. “There is a lot of wear and tear playing football and fighting professionally,” Kyle Kingsbury, a retired mixed martial arts fighter, told the San Fransisco [_Chronicle_](http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Park-s-weed-run-looks-to-change-public-6446464.php "undefined") “But pain management is something everyone in the world has to deal with, not just me.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3999710/weed-athletes-run/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3999710/weed-athletes-run/"},"headline":"These '420 Games' Athletes Want to Change the Perception of Weed","datePublished":"2015-08-16T16:51:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:12:47.624Z","description":"Pot smokers got up bright and early for a 4.2-mile race","url":"https://time.com/3999710/weed-athletes-run/","keywords":["Drugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c73965c33db3788/69885f81f887dc4c40e91e4e/420-games-run-san-fransisco.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c73965c33db3788/69885f81f887dc4c40e91e4e/420-games-run-san-fransisco.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Marijuana Games 420 san fransisco","caption":"Marijuana Games 420 san fransisco","creditText":"Olga Rodriguez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3999710/weed-athletes-run/","name":"These '420 Games' Athletes Want to Change the Perception of Weed"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids","description":"The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. 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