Pat Tillman remembered 16 years after his death with untraditional race during coronavirus
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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, athletes continuing the annual tradition of participating in Pat’s Run, a fundraiser and celebration of the life of Pat Tillman, who died 16 years ago Wednesday, had to get creative.
Last Saturday, regardless of the stay-at-home order in Arizona, runners did the race individually, by leaving from their own driveways, and showcasing their runs while maintaining social distancing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pat Tillman Foundation, which supports veterans and military spouses, showed off the 4.2 mile race on its Twitter page.
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Joe DeMeulenaere did the race despite his cancer diagnosis five years ago.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There are days I don’t want to go to the doctor, I don’t want to do the test, and I think, what would Pat Tillman do?" DeMeulenaere said. "And it really motivates me compared to what we got going on in our everyday lives, it really is nothing compared to what he had to do in his [life]."
The coronavirus pandemic has shut down sports across the country, from college to the NBA and NHL. Several running and cycling events have been postponed until later dates, including the Boston Marathon and Tour de France. Others, like the New York Half Marathon and Penn Relays, opted to cancel.
A handful decided to continue — with a catch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pat’s Run organizers changed gears on March 14 as the outbreak began to spread. They initially looked at moving the 4.2-mile run to the fall, but the schedule wouldn’t work for the city of Tempe or the first responders needed to staff the event.
Canceling Saturday’s race didn’t seem like the right option. Pat’s Run came together not long after the death of Tillman, the former NFL player turned soldier who was killed by friendly fire in 2004. It started with a group of friends honoring the memory of a deep-thinking man who loved the thrill of a physical challenge.
It has since blossomed into a race of 28,000 people with honor runs in 40 cities that has raised $18 million for the Pat Tillman Foundation, which supports veterans and military spouses.
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“As you think about why we do this, run to honor Pat and the life that he lived and the legacy that he’s left, you know, it did not feel right to simply cancel the race,” Pat Tillman Foundation CEO Dan Futrell said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.