Why We Started Run For Clare

Running 10 miles is a tradition Clare started a few years before she was killed, embarking on the lengthy run every year to honor her dad’s birthday who passed away when she was very young.

I was just a few months away from starting college when Clare died and when I got there I definitely struggled with the weight of this traumatic experience in a new place where I didn’t know many people. Her mom (my aunt) told me she would be carrying on the 10 mile tradition, this time on Clare’s birthday, as a way to honor her and what she started. My initial reaction was “wow 10 miles, I’m not sure if I can run that much” but I agreed to do it and knew it would help me feel connected to Clare and like a piece of home was with me even at college. Every year since then it has been a special tradition that my aunt and I have carried on, along with a few other family members and friends here and there.

Having this tradition has meant so much to me because running was special to Clare, but also something we used to do together. Clare and I started CYO track when I was in fourth grade and she was in fifth, and I remember being so impressed when she said she wanted to do the long distance events because it always seemed so daunting to me. I was more comfortable and successful in the sprinting events. She would come to my house after school and we would do our homework, eat snacks, and talk before heading to practice. For some reason we always ate Trader Joe’s sushi which seems so disgusting to eat before running but we loved it.

Then as we got older and she joined the cross country team at Las Lomas, our whole family was so proud of her for making varsity and running in the state meet her first year. There is something special about watching someone find what they are really good at and just shine. We all knew she was fast but the recognition she got from excelling at cross country was amazing to see. As our grandpa said “Those little legs can really move,”.

The Las Lomas cross country team was a community like nothing else. At its peak, I think 10% of the school’s student body was on the team. Everyone was so nice, supportive, and encouraging it made pushing up that final hill so much easier when a wave of neon shirts was screaming your name and doing the wave as you ran by. That is what is special about cross country, when you are feeling really low and like you can’t push anymore, your team is there to lift you up. Of every sport I played I think I made the most friends in my three years on cross country.

Last year, in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, I laced up my shoes (and mask) once again for 10 miles. Just before I left I got a text from my friend Kate with a screenshot of her Strava run report, “I did my run in honor of Clare this morning! Good luck with yours!”. At that point it had been more than 7 months of isolation and lockdowns and everyone was longing for hope and community. I replied that it would be cool if next year we could get a whole group to do ten miles. I honestly forgot I even said that until last week when Kate texted me on the anniversary of Clare’s death and asked if I was still planning to get more people involved in the tradition. We face-timed that Thursday and launched Run For Clare two days later, exactly 3 months before Clare’s birthday.

I hope that Run For Clare can not only bring the positive energy and sense of community of Las Lomas Cross Country but also help us feel connected to our friend, sister, cousin, daughter, niece, and teammate that we lost. This is about more than just 10 miles though, I also hope that by talking about what happened to her, we can create positive change in our community and nation and prevent a similar situation from happening again.

So please join us in running, walking, hiking, swimming, biking, whatever you want to do, 10 miles on October 21-25 as we Run For Clare.