Final Joplin Memorial Run honors tornado victims with special tribute
JOPLIN, Mo. — Emotions were running high in downtown Joplin this morning, as today marks the ending of an annual race.
The 13th annual Joplin Memorial Run got underway at 6:30 am today beginning at the Cornell Complex, with what will be the last time the race will ever be held.
City officials say a lack of participation and costs can be connected to the ending.
The race commemorates the 161 lives lost in the tornado on May 22nd, 2011.
Over 2,300 runners of all ages representing the four states and some as far as Australia signed up, to participate in either a half-marathon, a 10-K, or a 5-K.
Joplin Memorial Run committee member Patrick Tuttle says there’s one goal today.
“It’s just about remembering. The committee that put this on it’s about remembering the events of 2011. Those we lost. The rebuilding effort. The goals we’ve all achieved to bring Joplin back even greater and better,” said Patrick Tuttle.
161 banners are placed throughout the trail of the race, each representing one of the 161 lives lost during the events of 2011.
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Final Joplin Memorial Run honors tornado victims with special tribute
Today marked the end of the annual event and the last time the banners will be used at the city’s annual run.
City officials say more than 20 thousand runners have passed through the banners in the last 13 years.
After the race, members of the board of directors of Active Lifestyle Events donated the banners to the family members, to pay tribute to those who lost a loved one.
We spoke to family members of 76-year-old Leola Hardin, and 66-year-old Rev Raymond Chew Sr. both of Joplin – who tragically lost their lives as a result of the Joplin tornado.
“It’s great to know that people are still being remembered during one of the biggest tragedies that Joplin has seen, because I hopefully we won’t see something like that again in our lifetime. But it did bring a lot of the community together. And I believe that we’re still trying to see that community spirit by doing the remembrance. So it just has a heartwarming feeling whenever you know that your loved ones are still being remembered,” said Lisa Daoud, Sarcoxie resident.
“It’s really just wrapping it up, I think. Nobody is going to ever forget, but it’s just wrapping it up so everybody can move forward,” said Raymond Chew Jr., Joplin resident.
Chew tells us he’s attended the race every year in honor of his father – and it means a lot to him.
He says he plans to hang the banner at his mother’s house.
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