Letter: Remembering Our Heroes With 9/11 Run

On September 24th,  we will be hosting the 7th annual 9/11 Heroes Run at Mill Dam Park in Huntington. https://911heroesrunhuntingtonny.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=9540

The events of 9/11 may have been 21 years ago, but the devastation to Huntington still lingers for many in our area. We laid to rest 43 sons and daughters of our community. The families and friends that suffered these losses still deal with that loss every day.

With the  9/11 Heroes Run, we have tried to create an environment of remembrance to come together and honor their lives.

Military families have continued to endure loss since 9/11 as we have watched as many of our friends, classmates and teammates from our time in service were killed in action, from Lt. Jonas Panik killed at the Pentagon, to 1st Lt. Ron Winchester and JP Blecksmith in 2004, to 1st Lt. Travis Manion killed in 2007, to Lt. Brendan Looney, USN, SEAL, killed in 2010,  to the countless others under many of their commands.

We know we are not alone and many of you have also experienced these losses. We gather to honor their memory. This run honors all of our active duty military and veterans and their families.

This run also honors our first responders, especially our fire, police and emergency medical personnel. Jade Madden is the daughter of a career New York City firefighter from Squad 41 in the Bronx. Growing up, her family consisted of a group of men that left their families each day to protect us here at home. Seven members of that “family” paid the ultimate price on 9/11.We run to honor Michael Healey, Thomas Cullen 3rd, Robert Hamilton, Michael Lyons, Gregory Sikorsky, Bruce Vanhine and Thomas Foley. We run to honor all of our first responders that put their lives on the line for us. That is our story.

That is why we gather each September in Mill Dam Park. The event will include a 9/11 remembrance ceremony, a one-mile fun run for those who don’t want to do a 5K, and will culminate with a 5K race.

Here is the schedule of events: 8am – Registration and t-shirt pick-up begins (ideally, please arrive in your car by 9am to safely park and keep our runners safe) 9am – 1 mile fun run – walkers, strollers, Ruckers, and dogs are welcome for both the 1 mile run and 5K 9:20am – 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Begins, 9:40am – 5K Run Begins 10:30am – Medals for age group winners

Participants will receive a 9/11 Heroes Run T-shirt from the Travis Manion Foundation.

Additionally, if you know of someone in the community that lost a loved one, many of these families have set up teams to honor them together. We are happy to connect you to an existing team. Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]

Proceeds from this run will go to the Travis Manion Foundation and America’s VetDogs,  two great organizations that cater to our military personnel. We hope to see you. God Bless Huntington. God Bless America.

Sincerely, Rob & Jade Madden

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