May 3, 2007

Blazing a trail

Second annual Pat’s Run sees more than 5,000 hit Almaden’s streets running
in remembrance of Pat Tillman and in support of the Pat Tillman Foundation

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The San Jose community strapped on their running shoes and came out in droves to celebrate the life of Almaden’s native son, Pat Tillman, at the second annual staging of Pat’s Run on April 29.

Kevin Tillman, brother of Pat Tillman, talks with friends at the finish line at the second annual Pat’s Run at Leland High School on April 29.

Initial estimates by the Pat Tillman Foundation showed that more than 5,000 participants ran the 4.2-mile course, which wound its way through Tillman’s old stomping grounds in Almaden before finishing at the 42-yard line at Leland High School’s Pat Tillman Stadium. The foundation’s executive director, Alex Garwood, said the event was an appropriate way to celebrate the life Tillman led. Tillman died on April 22, 2004 as a member of the U.S. Army Rangers in a friendly fire incident while serving in Afghanistan after giving up his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the armed forces with his brother Kevin.

“Today’s an incredible, positive event,” said Garwood, Tillman’s brother-in-law. “What an amazing celebration of Pat’s life with everyone being out here and having a good time. It’s too bad we have to do it. Certainly, the way to make this better would be if Pat were here to see it.”

Educating future leaders
And while the event celebrated Tillman’s life, it also benefited a worthy cause. All proceeds from the run will go toward leadership programs established in September of 2006 at the San Jose Unified School District’s six high schools—including Leland, Tillman’s alma mater—by Youth Re:Action Corps, a nonprofit organization based in Tempe, Ariz. The programs are designed to give local students the power, knowledge and tools to create social change within their communities.

Youth Re:Action Corps Executive Director Courtney Klein, who ran the San Jose race, said the programs are intended to teach others about the positive impact one person or one group can have on a community, much like Tillman.

“It’s about cultivating the next generation of leaders, which is evident of who is out here today,” said Klein.

Leland's Jason Tenner, left, and Heath Clark at the start of the second annual Pat’s Run on April 29 at Leland High School Stadium. Photos by Dan Miranda

The high school programs also resemble the Leadership Through Action program at Arizona State University, another alma mater of Tillman. To that end, MacKenzie Hopman, a member of the first group of Tillman scholars at ASU’s Leadership Through Action program, was also on hand to support the event. Hopman said ASU’s program has given her a different perspective in how to live her life.

“It teaches students to be introspective and to basically live like Pat, to live your life as a genuine and authentic person who is introspective, aware of his or her surroundings and takes in everything the world has to offer and challenges it,” said Hopman.

Hopman said the program has inspired her to become a high school teacher, so that she can have a positive impact on youth and teach them the values she’s learned through the Leadership Through Action program. Part of that inspiration is an interactive children’s book that Hopman has been working on since her days as a Tillman Scholar.

“It’s something I’m continuing to work on and I think what it really allowed me to do was think about what type of impact I wanted to have on children,” said Hopman.

Running to celebrate Tillman
Leadership programs aside, many others participated in the event because of the profound impact Tillman had—directly or indirectly—on their lives.

San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney and Pat Tillman, Sr. chat at the finish line of the at the second annual Pat’s Run.

Jonathan Lee, a teacher at Holly Oak Elementary School in Evergreen and a 13-year Army Reservist, said he felt compelled to come out and support the event because of the way Tillman lived his life.

“Pat Tillman’s story just amazed me,” said Lee. “He’s someone who was willing to really sacrifice for our country. …What a better way to live your life, than to do what you believe in?”

Lee noted that the event was not meant to be a somber remembrance of Tillman or the recent Congressional hearings that featured Tillman’s brother, Kevin, and mother, Mary, testifying before a House Government Reform and Oversight Committee about how and when the Tillman family was notified about the circumstances of his death. Instead, said Lee, the event was a positive celebration of the San Jose native.

“The sad fact of the matter is that Pat is gone,” said Lee. “No matter about the hearings or anything else, nothing can change that fact. But he lived an amazing life and you’ve got to celebrate the positive as much as possible. That’s why we are here.”

David Silver, winner of the second annual Pat’s Run, crosses the finish line with a time of 21 minutes and 29 seconds on April 29 at Leland's Pat Tillman Stadium.

Also participating in the race were 90 members of the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office, dubbed Pat’s Posse. One member of the group, Deputy Brian Randall, said he was drawn to the event because he served a 16-month tour of duty in Afghanistan as a member of the Army and was set for his first mission the same week Tillman died. Randall, a 14-year Army Reservist, said Tillman’s values hold true today as something to live up to in the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office.

“He’s definitely someone we look up to,” said Randall. “Those are qualities, being a individual leader and helping other people out and become leaders, it’s definitely an attribute to our department and that’s something that we strive for.”

The run’s overall winner, Stanford graduate student David Silver, said he came out to the event to not only run, but to show his pride in Tillman.

“I think everybody across the country knows about Pat Tillman now and I think even those of us who didn’t know him are just very proud of who he was, what he did and what he represents,” said Silver, who previously ran cross country and track and field at Princeton and clocked in with a time of 21 minutes and 29 seconds at Pat’s Run. “I think for us to come out here today and run a race that recognizes Pat Tillman is a real honor for us.”

Dignitaries and local celebrities were also on hand to honor Tillman at the run, with a strong contingent from the sports world on hand to lend some support.

Four-year-old Jacob Wiebe gets help from his mother crossing the finish line during the kids run at the at the second annual Pat’s Run at the Leland High School on April 29. Jacob has a brain tumor that affects his motor skills.

San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney, a Santa Teresa High School and San Jose State University alumnus, ran in the event to support Tillman, someone he said he respected during their high school days as opponents and as a teammate with the Arizona Cardinals. Nedney, who also works with the Pat Tillman Foundation’s endeavors, said seeing numerous participants sporting Tillman’s No. 42 Arizona State University jersey was a testament to Tillman’s impact on others.

“What’s great for me is to see so many No. 42s all over the place,” said Nedney. “To know that one individual had that much of an impact on the world is just amazing to me. It’s just a great program and a great run.”

That said Nedney wished others could’ve known Tillman, and what he stood for, the way he did.

“He was just a cut above and I don’t think he really tried to be. He was just being Pat and it’s just too bad that a lot of people realize what type of man he was postmortem,”

Nedney said. “He was an amazing person living also, and that’s what brings me here.”

More than that however, Garwood noted the Tillman’s ability to bring others together, pointing to the race’s eclectic mix of participants as further proof.

“One of the amazing things about Pat is all the different kinds of people he brought together when he was alive and it’s amazing to see that he still does that,” said Garwood. “…It’s an amazing thing. It’s an incredible testament to Pat.”