Race founder has message of hope

Somer Breeze-Hanson / Northwest Guardian

Gig Harbor — Two days before the inaugural Race for a Soldier Half Marathon, race founder Leslie Mayne had a message. But she let others tell it.

More than 400 people gathered at Hope Center in Gig Harbor Oct. 14 at 7:30 a.m. to enjoy a breakfast, prayer and hear stories of hope. The prayer breakfast was another idea manifested by Mayne, who spent the last year planning the half marathon in honor of her son, Pfc. Kyle Farr, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury after returning from a deployment to Iraq in 2006.

Mayne lost her son in 2009.

Music by a variety of performers, including The Total Gospel Experience Choir performed and three Soldiers addressed the combination military and civilian audience who came to provide support.

“I just thought to myself, I’m so glad I’m not anywhere else right now,” said Rick Enloe, a pastor at Harbor Christian Center.

Mayne wanted the stories of strength and compassion shared with people who wouldn’t normally hear them unless they had Soldiers as friends or Family.

The speakers included Blake McIntire who served in the Army for three and a half years and deployed to Iraq in 2009.

He said the most important thing for a Soldier to come home to is support. Aaron McCarthy, founder of Canines and Heroes for Independence, spoke of how he continues to serve in his Marine uniform after he suffered injuries in Iraq in 2004. Recently he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease associated with his brain trauma. David Herron served eight years of honorable service in the Marines and is the founder of CrossFit in Gig Harbor. He addressed the Soldiers in the room and advised them to put war behind them when they return home and to remember what they love to do and do it for a living.

“This was for the community to learn, listen, love and acknowledge God,” Mayne said. “It was really for the community connection.”

Jeff Kemp, a former NFL player and now the president of Stronger Families, used football analogies and offered guidance on how to face the blitzes in life and turn them into something good — in much the same way Mayne did.

Mayne turned the loss of her son into an event to help others. She received a standing ovation at the prayer breakfast.

Two days later, nearly 1,000 runners participated in the inaugural race.

For more information about Race for a Soldier and the programs it benefits, visit www.raceforasoldier.org.