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Kate Treleaven is one of the organizers for One Run For Boston, a 3,300 mile cross-country relay from Los Angeles to Boston. Runners across the country are taking part to raise awareness and money for the fund supporting the bombing victims, One Fund Boston.
After raising $91,000 last year, Treleaven and the other organizers decided that this year will be even bigger. This year’s goal is $1 million, and as of Tuesday morning, the relay had generated over $300,000 with nearly 2,000 runners having already participated.
I was able to speak with Treleaven at the Discovery Center in Springfield early Tuesday morning, where the baton changed hands from one relay team to another.
“So, Danny and I were at home in England on the day of the marathon bombing last year. As runners when you see something like that happen to a sport that should be all about fun and positivity, we needed to do something. Instead of just writing a check we thought we would get people together and… [cheers] here they come!” said Treleaven.
Dan Bohannon was the lead runner for the 184th stage of the relay, from Republic to the Discovery Center.
“The wind was cold, but my team was just great. We all did it for the right reason. And we hope that what we do here by raising this money will change the lives of those who were injured, who weren’t runners. They were just people who like these people standing around here, were encouraging us and they’re the ones that suffered. We’re just hoping to raise that million dollars, so their lives can be somewhat normal in the future,” said Bohannon.
Bohannon also ran in the 158th stage of the relay last Sunday in Oklahoma. He says he’s passionate about running because it changes lives.
Running certainly has changed the life of Quanna Hafer.
She had just crossed the through the chaos at the finish line last year in Boston as the second bomb exploded. She and her friends were safe, but says she doesn’t want her main memory of that day to be bad. She wants to run for the good, and keep running. Hafer says she has to, for the people of that day who would love nothing more than to run another mile, but can’t.
“It just made my passion for running stronger and I think it made me realize that I’m going to do it as long as I possibly can, and try to share that. It doesn’t matter how far or fast, or if it’s a Boston qualifying time or whatever, I’m just going to be running,” said Hafer.
The One Run For Boston relay started on March 16th and is scheduled to reach Boston on April 13th, just two days before the one-year anniversary of the bombings there.
Treleaven and the other organizers of One Run For Boston encourage people to show their support for those whose lives were forever changed by the Boston Bombing by sponsoring a runner or donating directly at OneRunForBoston.org.
For KSMU News, I’m Shane Franklin.