Every April 30,000 people gather in the parking lot near ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium. It’s early, but they still come. There are super fast sprinters, wheelchair racers, teams, families, military platoons and walkers. Many, like us, have the date circled in red on the calendar.
They come from near and far but they are all here for one reason: Pat Tillman.
You may know his story. He was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals and walked away from his contract to join the Army with his brother after the September 11th terrorist attacks. He was tragically killed by friendly fire on April 22, 2004. He played college football at Arizona State University, wreaking havoc flying around the field wearing number 42. All around Arizona, getting to wear number 42 on the football field is a big deal.
It’s a 4.2 mile race that finishes on the 42-yard line of the football field in the stadium. Football players line the last 40 yards cheering you to the finish. The stadium is undergoing a major renovation and the north tunnel now has a statue of Pat that I’m excited to run by when it’s all done.
Shortly after his death, a small group who knew him best founded the Pat Tillman Foundation and held the first Pat’s Run. They weren’t expecting many people, certainly not a fifth grader and his dad, but 5,500 people laced their running shoes and ran for Pat. A legacy of giving back was born.
The foundation provides college scholarships to returning servicemen and their spouses. Here are the numbers taken directly from the foundation’s website: 525 Tillman Scholars have received $15 MILLION dollars in scholarships at over 100 universities. That is an impressive accomplishment in a short amount of time.
Mark and our son Kevin ran the very first race in 2005. Kevin was eight when Pat died and was a hero to Kevin and his friends. Kevin saw a TV commercial about the run and told Mark he wanted to do it. Mark said sure and kind of forgot about it. The night before Kevin reminded him saying, “Dad, Pat’s Run is tomorrow. We’re still doing it, right?” They were two of the 5,500 runners for that inaugural run. Mark’s plan was to run first mile then walk/run the rest. At the one-mile mark they felt good so they ran to the second mile. Mark asked Kevin how he was doing, Kevin said he was fine and they kept running. Once they hit the three-mile mark they told each other they couldn’t stop now and ran the whole thing.
We’ve run in almost all of them and I cry every single time. This is the only run that I carry my camera. There are service men and women running in full combat gear as well as wounded warriors. There was a trio of guys that ran in Pat’s college and pro jersey, football pads and all. I ran by them for several years and I would turn around and snap their picture while running backwards. Sadly, I haven’t seen them in a while. I wonder if they graduated and have moved elsewhere for their career.
Something I will never tire of is the gratitude that permeates the morning. Gratitude for what Pat and his wife Marie sacrificed. Gratitude for our servicemen and their fight for me. Gratitude for the wonderful country we live in.
Last year Mark’s cousin and his wife came from California to do it with us. It would be a first for both of them and we were excited to watch them cross the finish line. Linda worked really hard in her training but injured her knee so her doctor advised against it. Keith pressed on and was standing at the starting line next to me. He ran the first mile without stopping and I have to admit, we started out pretty fast. Mark doesn’t run this with me; his long legs carry him away as I watch the hat disappear among the other runners. Keith walked a little after that first speedy mile while I kept running. We cheered loudly for him at the finish line!
This year Keith and Linda were back for more and there was nothing stopping her. She set a goal of finishing at one hour. Keith wanted to beat his time from last year. Mark’s brother Matt and his girlfriend Kim came to run, too. This would be Matt and Kim’s first Pat’s Run.
It’s an early morning on race day. There are 30,000 runners and walkers and that many people take up a lot of space. So much space is that it takes two parking areas at the stadium, a lot of valuable real estate. We opt to go extra early, leaving our house at 5:45 am in order to park without the stress. We’ve had parking stress a time or two. One year, a parking lot didn’t get unlocked which resulted in a little mayhem. We ended up driving up and over the curb and parked in a patch of dirt along with 50 or so other cars. That was the last year of stress parking. Now, we park at the nearby Tempe Marketplace. It’s over a mile away but we don’t mind as we also bring our bikes to ride over to the starting area. We look at it as a nice way to warm the legs up going over and a nice cool down ride back to the truck. Sometimes we are pretty smart.
There was a military group gathering near us and when they lined up for a picture, I quickly ran over and asked if I could take their picture as well. Cue the tears for this race.
Each corral holds 1,000 runners and is led by a Tillman Scholar. The announcer recognizes each one and highlights their service and their education. I like having them be part of the event. For me it puts a face to the cause and I can see right in front of me who the race money goes.
This year we didn’t get to finish inside the stadium as the renovations have progressed far enough that the field and half the stadium seats are gone. I was bummed for Matt and Kim since their first experience finishing Pat’s Run was going to be in the parking lot. Such a let down for me but they didn’t care. They were happy just being with us and running for this great cause.
We hit the starting line and took off. Like every year, I looked for my football gear friends. I make it a point to thank the police officers and volunteers along the route. Doing so makes my run a little longer, this year it was 4.26 according to my watch and Nike+ running app. As I crossed the finish line I looked for Mark, he’s so tall it makes him easy to spot and got my medal. When I found him, I told him that Matt and Kim weren’t too far behind me so we moved back towards the finish line but couldn’t get close enough for a loud cheer. Next year will be better when the stadium is finished. Keith was next to finish and Linda a several minutes after that.
Mark got close to his personal best with a 7:55 pace. Those darn long legs. I finished with a great pace as well, although not my personal best. Keith beat last years’ time by 20 seconds and Linda beat her goal of one hour. Complete and total success. Onto the beer garden for our free malted beverage before hopping on our bikes for the ride back to the truck.
Our friends and fearless leaders of the Chandler Crossfit team, Eric and Michele joined us back at our house along with her dad Mike for breakfast. I want to be like Mike; he’s 68 years old and finished with a 49:27 time.
There are shadow runs across the country so if you can’t get to Tempe, I encourage you to find a shadow run near you. Or, you can start your own! Pat’s Run is one of those events that truly makes a difference. I will run it as long as I can.
