Never Forget: Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run this weekend

The Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run is Sunday.

The event, sponsored by the Travis Manion Foundation, is held to honor and remember lives lost on 9/11, to celebrate the courage and bravery of that time, and to thank first responders and military service members.

Now in its 11th year and held in 50 cities around the world, the race series began as a short memorial run around the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium by a small group of family and friends to honor former U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion.

Manion was killed in action in 2007 while saving his wounded teammates on his second tour in Iraq.

“Travis embodied the word character,” said race Director Natanya Levioff. “They wanted to continue his legacy of doing the right thing, even when no one was looking. That’s why we do a lot of work with young people.”

This year’s event in Annapolis, Maryland, will host the traveling Veterans & Athletes United Fallen Heroes Memorial from noon to 4 p.m.

The 6-foot-tall, 28-foot-wide memorial is shaped like an American flag draped over a fallen service member’s casket. It’s made of nearly 7,000 dog tags of fallen service members. The dog tags are in alphabetical order and continuously rearranged as new names are added.

The memorial’s 50 gold stars honor Gold Star families nationwide. In front of it, there’s a 10-foot-tall carved wooden replica of the battle crosses — the boots, gun and helmet displayed during memorial services held for service members who’ve been lost overseas.

The 2019 Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

To participate in the run, you can register from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Fleet Feet Sports Annapolis in the Annapolis Harbor Center. Or, on-site the day of the race between noon and 1:30 p.m.

Details about the 5K and 1M Family Fun Run and 5K GORUCK division can be found on the organization’s website.

The Baltimore 9/11 Heroes Run is Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. The start and finish lines are at West Shore Park. The run follows a path around the Inner Harbor. Registration is now open.

Race registration fees and donations support programs of the Travis Manion Foundation.

“Not just the character education program, but also our work with veterans and families of fallen heroes,” Levioff said.

1/12

Participants get a free T-shirt. This boy finishing the 1-mile race in 2018 put his on before the race. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

2/12

Pets are welcome. This four-legged athlete was a 1-mile finisher in 2018. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

3/12

Lenne Stolberg and Kathryn Hale in 2018 are finishing the 5K in full gear. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

4/12

The Fallen Heroes Memorial Flag is made of nearly 7,000 dog tags of fallen service members. The traveling memorial, sponsored by Veterans and Athletes United, will be at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium from noon to 4 p.m. the day of the run. (Courtesy Veterans and Athletes United)

5/12

FDNY firefighter Robert Tilearcio’s widow is the event’s guest speaker. Tilearcio passed away in October 2017 at 58 years old from cancer as a result of being at ground zero on and in the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001. Tilearcio pressed Congress to pass the Zadroga Act, which protects and covers the health care and medical bills of all first responders who were exposed to toxins from their work at ground zero, long before he himself would ever need the help. (Courtesy Tilearcio family)

6/12

Pictured alongside his father, Robert Tilarcio, Jr. is one of 13 children of fallen 9-11 firefighters joining the FDNY this year. Tilarcio, Jr. was assigned his father’s number. (Courtesy Tilearcio family)

7/12

Tina Tilearcio and her daughter, Tatiana, will captain the 1 Mile division and assist in the awards ceremony. Other family members will be participating in the 5K division. (Courtesy Tilearcio family)

8/12

Runners getting ready to begin the Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run in 2018. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

9/12

Nearly 250 volunteers give their time every year to the Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

10/12

The Annapolis 9/11 Heroes Run includes a 5K and 1-mile Family Fun Run. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

11/12

5K runners near the finish line. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

12/12

Ten and under top finishers. (Courtesy Travis Manion Foundation)

Kristi King

Kristi King is a veteran reporter who has been working in the WTOP newsroom since 1990. She covers everything from breaking news to consumer concerns and the latest medical developments.