Lone Star Trail of Heroes run
I came back two days from participating in the inaugural Lone Star Trail of Heroes, organized by Nancy Glass and Lauren McIntyre of Operation Honor Our Heroes.
It was amazing to be part of their run, get my feet back on the pavement, and meet so many wonderful Gold Star Families of the Texas fallen. The evening before the run began, I attended the Armed Forces Day dinner in Amarillo, TX organized by America Supports You, Texas. It was an honor to listen to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Donald “Doc” Ballard address the crowd, and I was amazed to see and hear the only working replica of the Liberty Bell.
We ran the following morning after a short ceremony at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial. With me were three members of the original Run for the Fallen team (Shannon Cleary, Rowland Boateng, and Shauna Sweet). I proudly carried the Honor & Remember flag when I ran, and during the first mile for Pfc. Damian Garza, we were accompanied by his family. It was also great to meet and run with the Alaniz family during the next mile for Paul C. Alaniz.
As we had a flight to catch the same day, I was only able to run 10 miles. Yet, while I wish we could have remained longer, I was taken back to the spirit of 2008’s cross country run. I am very proud of Nancy and Lauren for organizing the Lone Star Trail of Heroes and look forward to hearing about their successful finish this Memorial Day in Austin, TX.
For more, please visit www.lonestartrailofheroes.org/
Thanks to all you guys who came from so far to join in on the run. It was an amazing experience! Being able to run that mile for my cousin, Paul C. Alaniz, was amazing. My husband completed 3 additional miles and my brother and I did an additional 2 miles. It is nice to know that even though they are no longer with us there are still people out there who will forever remember what they did for this country. I can’t wait to do it all again next. Looking forward to the Run for the Fallen this year. Hopefully we get to join in on the run somewhere along the way.