One day when Eliza and I were at Mt. Trashmore playing, a group of young children started running and chasing each other in the grass. Eliza watched and she laughed and clapped her hands but she didn’t join in. That’s when I realized that Eliza couldn’t run. Because of her neurological issues she had very low muscle tone and very low muscle strength which is the reason she had a harder time walking and ultimately was never able to run.
Run (verb) to move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all feet on the ground at the same time. It seems so simple, you don’t even have to teach it, kids just run; but for our sweet girl it wasn’t so easy. So when my Dad told me just a few months after Eliza went to heaven that he wanted to have a 5K in her honor all I could say was “perfect”, what better way to honor our girl than to run.
More than 250 people came to our first race to support us and to remember Eliza. They cheered and clapped and they ran. And now as our 3rd Pinecone 5k approaches I feel immense gratitude for the hundreds of people that will wake up early on a Sunday morning, put on their sneakers and pin on their numbers and run for OUR KIDS. I feel immense gratitude for everyone that will stand at that start line wearing T-shirt’s with Eliza’s name on them and run for our little girl who couldn’t run but who never, ever gave up.
“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.”
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