Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/912607
DECEMBER 6 - 12, 2017 UCW 17 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Ryan's Reindeer Run: Run because you can by STEPHANIE CRIDER COVER STORY T he 12t h A nnua l Rya n's Reindeer Run ta kes place Sat urday, Dec. 16 at t he Medica l A r ts Complex Field in dow ntow n Fayet tev i l le. T he r un is more t ha n just a good way to counter t he ex t ra ca lor ies f rom holiday fest iv it ies, t houg h. It is a celebrat ion a nd a cha nce to do good, a l l whi le hav ing f un. Rya n's Reindeer Run is na med for Rya n Pat- r ick K ishbaug h, a rema rkable young ma n w it h a bright future. He graduated second in his class and was accepted to Princeton Universit y. He was a volunteer, receiv ing t he Governor's Award for Outstanding Volunteer Ser v ice in 2001. He was determined. He was passionate. He was a f ighter. He loved sports, and he loved to run. Ryan was diagnosed with cancer his senior year in high school. He lost his battle to Hodgkin's Lymphoma 15 months later, on Jan. 1, 2003. Ryan's Reindeer Run is a celebration of his life – because he loved life and lived each day to t he fullest. Some time after diagnosis, Ryan w rote in his journal, "But ever y morning when I would crawl out of bed, dreading t he oncoming day, I stopped t hink ing about w inning and losing. I ex- perienced v ictor y ever y morning by merely wak- ing up, because w it h ever y day I lived, I won, and cancer lost. I didn't tr y in school so t hat I could be a w inner, and I didn't sprint up and dow n t he basketball court to achieve any v ictor y. I didn't do it for t he praise or t he glor y. "So many people t hroughout t his whole ordeal have asked me why I chose to do what I did. I always told t hem t hat I really didn't see much of a choice in it. Now I realize t here was, because so many of us sit on t he sidelines and watch. As for me, I just love to run." Rya n a lso w rote a book about t he physica l a nd emot iona l cha l lenges he faced as he t r ied to live as nor ma l a life as possible w it h a fata l disease. T he book is ca l led "Run Because You Ca n" a nd is ava i lable at w w w.r ya nsreindeer r un.com. A f ter Rya n died, his fa m i ly wa nted to do somet hing to honor his memor y a nd a l low him to cont inue to ma ke a dif ference in t he world. "He was a wonder f u l at h lete a nd loved t he holi- days, a nd hav ing a holiday r un just seemed li ke a nice way to ra ise money for t he com munit y a nd prov ide a f un yet cha l leng ing event for indi- v idua ls a nd fa m i ly," sa id Rya n's mom, Rober ta Humphr ies, Chi ld Advocac y Center execut ive director. "It was a lso a n oppor t unit y for Rya n's f r iends a nd fa m i ly to get toget her a nd remem- ber his joy f u l spir it." One of t he t hings t hat ma kes t his r un dif fer- ent f rom ot hers is t he cost u me contest. T here a re categor ies for ma le a nd fema le r unners. "It is impor ta nt to reg ister w it h t he cost ume judges so t hey a re sure to see your cost ume," Humphr ies sa id. Rya n's Reindeer Run is a lso unique in ot her ways. T here a re fa m i ly awa rds a nd reindeer- t hemed t rophies, a nd a l l chi ldren under 13 receive f inisher meda ls. "A lso, a lt houg h on ly a 5k, it is ver y cha l leng ing w it h ma ny hi l ls," Humphr ies sa id. "T hat was desig ned pur pose- f u l ly because life is f u l l of cha l lenges w it h ma ny ups a nd dow ns, a nd t he r u n is mea nt to ref lect t hat. People shou ld feel a sense of accomplish- ment by complet ing t his r un. It is a lso condu- cive to t hose just w ishing to wa l k." T he 5,000-meter r un/wa l k sta r ts a nd ends at t he Medica l A r ts pa rk ing lot ent ra nce on Hay St reet. T he route goes up Hay mount Hi l l a nd mea nders t hroug h t he scenic Hay mount a rea neig hborhoods. Tim ing is prov ided. W hi le t he r un is a wonder f u l way to enjoy a hea lt hy event w it h f r iends a nd fa m i ly, it is impor ta nt to Humphr ies t hat t he event benef it t he com munit y. "T he net prof its of t his r un a re ret ur ned to t he com munit y to suppor t pro- g ra ms t hat I believe Rya n wou ld have suppor ted if he was st i l l able to," she sa id. "Ma ny of t he prog ra ms suppor ted t hroug h t his event ben- ef it chi ldren a nd indiv idua ls dea ling w it h t he diag nosis of ca ncer. To date, we have g iven back over $163,000 to va r ious orga nizat ions f rom proceeds ra ised." T here a re t wo ent r y categor ies – indiv idua l a nd fa m i ly. Fa m i ly ent ra nts a re not elig ible for t he indiv idua l awa rds. Pr izes a re awa rded to t he top t hree overa l l ma le a nd fema le f inish- ers a nd t he top t hree ma le a nd fema le f inishers in t he fol low ing age div isions: under 13, 13-16, 17-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69 a nd 70 a nd over. A l l under 13 pa r t icipa nts receive a f inisher's awa rd. Pr izes a re a lso awa rded to t he top t hree pet f inishers a nd t heir ow ners, top t hree fa m i ly f in- ishers, best cost umed r unners, top t hree st rol ler r unners a nd best decorated st rol lers. A tea m t rophy is presented to t he school, club or orga nizat ion w it h t he la rgest number of pa r t icipa nts. Include na me of orga nizat ion on ent r y for m. T here must be a m inimum of 10 ent r ies to be considered a g roup. T his awa rd is not based on t ime but on number of reg ist ra nts. Groups must reg ister by T hursday, Dec. 14. Pets on a leash a re a l lowed but must be cont rol led at a l l t imes. T he r un nor ma l ly has bet ween 800-1,000 reg ist ra nts. T he race beg ins at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 16. Packet pick up a nd sa me-day reg ist rat ion a re f rom 7-8:15 a.m. at t he Medica l A r ts Complex Field, 101 Robeson St. Ea rly packet pick up a nd reg is- t rat ion a re Dec. 15 f rom 5-8 p.m. at t he Chi ld Advocac y Center, 222 Rowa n St. You may a lso reg ister ea rly on line by v isit ing w w w.r ya nsrein- deer r un.com or by sea rching for t he event at w w w.act ive.com. Ryan's Reindeer Run is a 5K walk/run that includes a challenging course and lots of fun. STEPHANIE CRIDER, As- sociate Publisher. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. (910) 484-6200.