Neither wind nor rain could dampen spirits of Daltons runners
By Kelley Mohr
October 1, 2011
321
Summary: Despite the wet weather, the Rich Dalessandro Memorial Fall Turkey Run received overwhelming community support.
Story: Hundreds of runners and walkers withstood cool temperatures and drizzling rain to support a community cause when they competed in the 4th annual Rich Dalessandro Memorial Fall Turkey 5k, 2-Mile Run/Walk and Kids Fun Run on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Dalton, Ohio.
The race, which was a Tier 2 2011 Subway Challenge Series event and a certified 5k course, was created four years ago by the Dalessandro family to raise money for leukemia research and benefit local families with leukemia in memory of their son and brother, Rich Dalessandro, who died in 2007 after battling leukemia. All proceeds from the race are given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to fund research, and to Carol Curie and Michele Carathers, two Dalton residents currently battling leukemia who received bone marrow transplants this year.
This is in memory of my brother Rich, he passed away four years ago of Leukemia, so we thought that we would do this to help other people and also to honor his memory, said Chrissy Fratena, event organizer.
Participants of all ages and abilities chose to run or walk the various routes through the village of Dalton early on the inclement Saturday morning in support of the cause. Pretty much the whole town of Dalton comes out to either run or walk or cheer on everybody, said Fratena. All the local communities come out as well, we get people from Orville, Massillon, Wooster, and even as far as Akron and Canton.
The number of runners has grown from the 150 participants who signed up for the first memorial run. This year, more than 400 participants joined in the races of various lengths, which included a wheelchair division and pregnant/Up to 1-year postpartum category.
Many local residents came out to support this cause that affects so many people in the local community. Im a cancer survivor for 10 years now, said Debbie Handwerk, a 3rd grade teacher at the Dalton Intermediate School who ran the 2-mile. I came to benefit the cause of cancer because Im just grateful Im a survivor.
After crossing the finish line, the cold and soggy participants could take shelter in the dry auditorium where a health fair was underway. In an effort to promote the health of the community, wellness booths taught about injury prevention and nutrition and offered services such as post-race massages and BMI and blood pressure screenings. Additionally, runners could snack on apple cider, sandwiches, doughnuts and fruit while they awaited their race results or buy tickets for the raffle, which also benefited leukemia research.
The overall winners in the male and female 5k were John Rice with a time of 17.17 and Amy Holder with a time of 19.49. Prizes were also awarded to the winners of the male and female 2-mile run and 2-mile walk, the youngest and oldest runners, wheelchair participant and winners of each age group for males and females.
These contributions from these fall festivities promised to add up to a generous amount of funding for the Dalessandros cause. Weve raised about 17,000 in the past years and we hope to add to that this year, said Fratena. This year will probably be another record setting year.
Donations can be made to the Rich Dalessandro Memorial, P.O. Box 254, Dalton 44618.
