The 5K Makes Great Strides

With the hard work of our 5K co-chairs the Heroes for Children 5K Run/Walk was our best 5K yet. We had over 1,200 participants registered and over $50,000 raised. The threat of Hurricane Ike did keep some people away but not everyone. We made it through most the morning without any rain but not long after the 5K started we started to feel the drops slowly coming down. Of course the rain did pick up a bit from there but it didn’t down pour until all the 5K finishers were through the finish line and awards were just about done being handed out. With the help of the dedicated 5K committee and wonderful volunteers the 5K was packed up pretty quickly as the rain came down harder. The very unfortunate issue with the rain was that the Eddie Coker concert was canceled and the sounds system was packed up rather quickly. Eddie Coker has promised to back next year and we can’t wait.

The moments of the day for me were watching a young boy, Kevin, who is battling cancer come across the finish line in his wheel chair with his mom and dad on either side of him. His team was also there to cheer him on. Watching over 500 yellow balloons along with 2 red heart balloons go up into the skies overhead on Allie Day. There is one more moment for me (on a little more selfish note) my little guy ran the whole fun run in 8 minutes and 35 seconds. Pretty good for a 5 year old!


I’m pretty sure I can tell you the moment of the day for our Grand Marshall, Carson, a little boy that has been battling Stage 4 Hepatablastoma, a rare and aggressive liver cancer, for the past two years, and his older brother, Collin. I am 99% sure it was when they got to meet Jason “The Jet” Terry from the Dallas Mavericks. The boys got to ride in the pace car with Jason for both the fun run and the 5K. They had a blast.



We loved seeing all the teams that were formed this year. Many of those teams were formed by families that Heroes for Children has helped. Team Joseph was in memory of a 13 year old boy who passed away in Jan 2007. Their team was the highest fundraising team with over $6,800 raised. Carson’s Crusaders, a team in honor of our Grand Marshall Carson, was awarded best team spirit and outstanding team captain. The largest team award went to Express Cheer of Frisco.

Overall, the 5K was a huge success and we thank everyone that was involved in the 2008 Heroes for Children 5K Run/Walk.