by Jon Bellona, Director & Founder of Run for the Fallen

It is sometimes hard to capture what the run means or what the run itself manifests. For me, my undying pledge of love for my fellow man, my fellow American, has always been the cornerstone for my love of country and my love of life. It is much easier for me to go out and run one mile than it has been to express the unyielding devotion I have to my family and friends. I guess I like to manifest the old axiom, “Actions speak louder than words.” So while the sum of my heart can never truly be laid out in words, I hope that the following will closely echo the sentiments felt while developing and participating in Run for the Fallen this summer.

I had few expectations when I undertook the idea “run one mile for every service killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” I wanted to keep the run apolitical. I wanted to do Mike’s life justice. I wanted everyone to remember the name Mike Cleary. I wanted peace of mind for Mike’s family and for our close group of friends. I wanted the very thing that everybody wants but know we can never have.
And beyond Mikey, I truly wanted to touch one heart, one family whom I’ve never met.

I’m an idealist, don’t get me wrong. While I wanted to reach out to one family, I continually strove to reach out to all families. I wanted people to connect, towns and communities to come together; I wanted the nation as a whole to continue remembering. I wanted no one to forget.

Yet it was the simple, personal goals that kept me afloat. One individual at a time, one mile at a time. Keep the run apolitical. If I could touch one heart, my personal quest would be satisfied… I know Mike would be proud.

To hear a Gold Star mother come up to you and say “you don’t know how much these means to me,” truly cuts to the core of your being. You are left speechless, and the few things you are compelled to do are to embrace and to smile. On the one hand, you are proud to run, to do something you believe in your heart is possible, and at the same time, you are mired by the very thought that you will never know the depths to which she speaks. To attempt to understand another is to embrace them. Yet I remain, speechless.

Over the course of ten weeks, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful families, so many grateful towns, so many positive individuals. Yet one family sticks out in my mind. While running through Blanding, UT on July 1st, we met the Winder family. Tom and Terri Winder’s son, Nathan Winder, was killed in Iraq on June 26, 2007. They adopted him when he was 2, and Nathan is just one of their 18 children. Tom and Terri’s hearts are as big as their family. And while the Winders weren’t the first Gold Star family we met, nor with whom we’ve grown the closest, I will never forget that moment or her words. “You will never know how much this means to us,” Terri said. And yes, she is right. Yet what she didn’t know was that while she was the mother whose heart I touched, it was her who in turn, touched my heart. She fulfilled the promise of what Run for the Fallen could become, of the promise I made to Mike, something I knew only in my heart.

This summer Run for the Fallen ran just over 4100 miles to reach Arlington National Cemetery. We placed a flag and a service member sign card at each mile for those killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. No, it wasn’t easy at times, and yes, we got tired. Yet I was proud to be out there, and damn proud of the members who comprised the Run for the Fallen team. I couldn’t have asked for a better collective of individuals nor a better summer. Everything just seemed to work itself out.

Run for the Fallen’s journey across America was, for lack of a better word, amazing. Also, the run across the country was only a portion of what we, as a nation, physically accomplished. On our final day, when Run for the Fallen ran its last 10k around Washington D.C. to the gates of Arlington National Cemetery, we had also encouraged others to go out and run/walk one mile for a fallen service member. It was that last day, August 24, 2008, that we collectively ran in remembrance of all those who gave their lives in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I’ve only tallied roughly 85% of the runs which took place all across the globe (well, 85% of those who emailed me). Nine different countries (France, Brazil, England, Iraq, Kuwait, S. Korea, Indonesia, China and Tanzania) and over 40 states held remembrance runs honoring the men and women who gave their lives serving in both Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). There were over 9,000 runners who, together, ran over 35,000 miles for the fallen. To put this into perspective, that’s equivalent to 1.5 times around the circumference of the Earth.

These runs show that we are connected together, bound by bonds that grow deeper than what words can reveal. Run for the Fallen was and remains an opportunity for everyone, anyone, to positively remember our service members, families, and loved ones. Because while the 2008 memorial run across our great nation is over, there are other profound events and causes that continue and still need our support.

Honor and Remember rallies for a nationally recognized flag that would fly continuously as a visible reminder to all Americans of the lives lost in defense of our national freedoms. Wounded Warrior Project fights to honor and empower wounded veterans. And there’s more organizations like these: TAPS, HUGSS, Yellow Ribbon Fund, and countless others carry the spirit and duty of remembering, honoring, and caring for our service members and their families. This shouldn’t be a task left alone. We can continue to run.

As I’ve stated once before in my closing remarks at Arlington, the question we now have to ask ourselves is “how will we continue to run for the fallen?” How will we strive to make a positive difference in our communities? Forward, positive action brings us together and binds us. In saying this, our actions do not have to be large and monumental to make a difference. For as we have seen, it is about that first step. It is about running one mile at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, step by step. And it is our own passionate drive that will allow us to take that “first step in faith.”

And for the runners, running events are being held nationwide. The memorial run for 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker will be held in Big Bear Lake, CA on September 27th hosted by the Seven Stars Foundation. The Marine Corps Marathon, held annually in Arlington, will take place this year on October 26th. Run for the Fallen will be doing its best to publicize events like these.

And for those who cannot run (or at least take the occasional leisurely stroll), I would like to act on Levar Burton’s behalf and suggest two honorary books, both of which deeply affected me. They are Final Salute and Operation Homecoming. They are wonderful books, ones that I feel intimately touch the human heart. But then again, you don’t have to take my word for it.

In closing, Run for the Fallen provided me with not just a stronger sense of love, but left me with a deep enduring feeling of hope. It is by hope that we carry our passions forward, and to believe in a better tomorrow while working towards a better today. I know now that I carry this feeling with me wherever I go, and it’s always been there. Hope just needed a little dusting and some TLC to rekindle my faith in myself, in others, and in America. I proudly carry her as I continue to run.