‘RUN FOR THE FALLEN’ T-SHIRTS & SWEATSHIRTS are now available online at http://www.cafepress.com/tothemthatsgone – the proceeds will go toward the completion of the documentary.
•Keep up to date with documentary news on Facebook.
•For more about To Them That’s Gone, the Run for the Fallen documentary, please visit the film’s website: tothemthatsgone.com
The Run for the Fallen documentary
Photos from Run for the Fallen, the 2008 run across America honoring our fallen service members. The sign cards were created by students from various schools across the US, from Maui to CT. Unless noted, all photos taken by Triona Dombroski-Fritsch. ©2008
While there are still some events being planned for this coming weekend and next month, I wanted to first start off by saying thank you to all who have participated in the 2nd annual Run for the Fallen. Nationwide, the event was a success. From the individual solo runs to the family gatherings to the large organized walk/runs, we couldn’t have done this without you. We are running to remember, and we hold and carry them with us (if not alongside us!) as we run.
Thank you as well to all those who ran and do not personally know a fallen service member. Your commitment to say, “I will never forget,” takes strength, and I want to specially thank you for participating.
Together, as of this past weekend, there were 5,023 participants from 35 states and four different countries including Indonesia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. A total of 30,081 miles were run in honor & remembrance of our fallen. This year is a huge success, and I know that events around the country brought communities together. So thank you. Update, as of Sept 9, 2009, there were 5,416 participants and over 31,404 miles ran/walked.
The distance of the 2nd annual Run for the Fallen is equivalent to the same number of miles as a round trip from the US to Iraq (13,944 mi) and from the US to Afghanistan (14,822 mi). I understand runs are scheduled for next weekend and next month, and I will add these runs to our collective remembrance.
Thank you to everyone! for participating in this year’s Run for the Fallen, and for making it another year of heartfelt remembrance. United, we will never forget.
Jon Bellona
Director, Run for the Fallen
Pictures of 2009 events across the country can be viewed below:
Fort Carson, Colorado
Sebring, Florida
The film production crew has posted a video dedicated to the 2nd Annual Run for the Fallen. In their words, “This video is for Mikey and everybody running for a loved one this weekend.”
Thanks guys.
Woke up this morning, put on my running shoes, and hit the pavement. Being away from home and not near any organized run, I ran alone, but the solitude felt peaceful and the morning was brisk. I hearkened back during my three mile run to college and to Mike before he joined the Army. I recalled other good friends and our shared moments together. And then to how we, last summer, ran across the country for all the Fallen.
It is hard for me to describe last summer without pointing out that it was a shared experience, and traveled deeply into my heart. This is why it is hard to write about. As soon as I begin to write about one emotion, another leaps up to take its place. When I write about one memory, it seems as if another could be the same, a shared memory 50 miles down the road, or another or another and so on. Each moment was unique, yet each shared an intrinsic quality that I would define, as love. Love of our family, love of our friends, love of our community surrounding us. Love for those we miss deeply in our hearts. Love for those who shaped us, and in turn for those whom we continue to teach and inspire.
I know that if you are involved in a run across the country this weekend: Pinckneyville, Illinois; Run for the Fallen Maine; Bloomer, Wisconsin; these same hard-to-describe feelings will usher themselves in. And in that moment, in that time of your run, you will understand what I try to describe. Because you will know. You will feel it better than I do.
I don’t claim to know much at all, but I do feel something strongly in my heart. And that is what I choose to follow. That is running to remember.
So thank you for running. Thank you bringing this together. It is through you that we all succeed. For love, for honor, for the times in which we will never forget.
Jon Bellona, Director Run for the Fallen
