3.57 Miles To Remember Our Heroes

Five Hundred Miles.

Five Hundred Miles in Nine Months.

The “500 Mile Runniversary” of my relationship with Gareth, the child I run for through I Run for Michael, will happen on Thursday.

And on Thursday, Gareth and I will be doing a run “together.”

Here’s the bib:

On Thursday, I am running my “usual” run as assigned by my coach. The run will probably be somewhere between 4.5 and 5 miles, but 3.57 miles of that run will be heroic (not my heroism, someone else’s). I’ll be:

• Crossing the 500 mile mark for Gareth
• Running the virtual “A Run to Remember,” which honors the memory of our fallen military heroes
• Accruing miles for the ASPCA via Charity Miles in accordance with Matthew England’s love of animals (Matthew is specifically one of the fallen heroes who is being remembered)
• Running “with” Gareth even though we are separated by many miles and state boundaries (look! it says it right on the bib!)
• Running as number “357,” a number chosen by Gareth in honor of his dad
• Helping build the Matthew J. England Memorial Scholarship Fund via my entry fee

Having grown up a military kid, and having the interest in World War II that I do, as well as a true concern for the treatment our veterans receive, I can think of no better way to celebrate Gareth’s and my 500 mile mark than honoring our fallen heroes. At Charity Miles, we have a habit of saying #everymilematters. No time has that been more true than when the miles are run by more than two feet and more than two hearts.

For more information on Matthew England, please visit this link and this link.

AND it’s not too late to join the virtual 5K/10K/Half Marathon (or, in my case, 3.57 miler!). It ends on March 16 (kind of ….. the organizers would be happy to accept your $15 donation at any time as well as your miles!). You can get all the information you need by clicking this link.

Lastly, on the virtual races for heroes front, there will be other events in the future. According to Matthew England’s mom, some people who are going to be running in April, maybe near Matthew’s birthday. The 2nd Annual Matthew J. England Memorial Run will be held this year in November again; it is held in Matthew’s hometown but people can also run anywhere (last year’s event had people in 15 states and also Afghanistan and Germany).

Okay, Gareth, get out your virtual safety pins. We have work to do on Thursday. The ASPCA, Matthew’s Mom, and families of many other soldiers who deserve to be remembered are counting on us. At least 357 of them!

Pictures of PFC Matthew J England

Paula Kiger

Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.