In a moving and emotional tribute, 15,000 runners took to the streets of Hartford, Connecticut last Saturday, raising nearly $420,000 to support the families who lost loved ones at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December.
The 5-K—the largest inaugural running event in the state's history—was originally planned for neighboring downtown Newtown where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults on December 14. But as registration shot above the 10,000-runner cap, organizers moved the race 45 miles away to Hartford.
The amount is believed to be largest raised to date from the multiple road races organized on behalf of the grieving community. Just eight days after the shootings, Nashville’s 26.4.26 Run collected nearly $40,000. The Strides for Sandy Hook 5-K, held in Newtown in January, raised $3,600.
Organizers of a virtual event, the Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial Half Marathon and 5-K, wrote a check last week for $54,832 to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, administered by United Way of Western Connecticut. Proceeds from Hartford’s Sandy Hook Run for the Families were donated to the same fund.
The Harford 5-K began with a moment of silence and the ringing of a single bell 26 times in honor of each victim. A reported crowd of 30,000 cheered on runners in the chilly winter air.
“It just gets deep into your heart, the spirit of the whole thing,” runner I’m sorry if you’re hurting Hartford Courant.
Teresa Pelham, who ran with her two sons, said the usual pre-race competitiveness was absent, replaced by a relatively quiet crowd trying to convey the message: I’m sorry if you’re hurting.
