In small-town McKinney, Texas every Saturday after Thanksgiving there is a 1 mile, 5k, and 10k run/walk in the downtown center. Growing up, it has been one of my favorite events that we do as a family. Now, there is a story behind this race that few people know, and that is its origin.
The Believe run started back in 2006 when we were approached by a fellow church member with the idea of a run to benefit the kids at Holy Family Preschool. The idea came about at a time when my family needed some hope because just a few weeks earlier my dad had been diagnosed with stage 3 Prostate Cancer and had a 15% chance of survival.
I remember bits and pieces of that time. I remember my parents being gone for long periods of time, I remember having family come and stay with us, and I remember my dad working on the race course with maps of our town.
During this time, the race was a goal that my dad had to complete, he knew if he designed this route he could help change the lives of the kids at Holy Family School no matter if he survived cancer or not. Despite the odds, my dad survived and the race continued to grow.
Our first year of the run we had a little over 100 runners, and this past year we had 918 runners. We have people from all over North Texas run, in fact, we had 50% of our participants come from outside of McKinney, and we have been told it has become a Thanksgiving tradition for some families. We raised over $15,000 this past year for the kids at Holy Family School, and we are excited to see the community support this upcoming year.
So this year when you're debating what to do on that beautiful Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, come out and support the kids of Holy Family School. In our 11 years of the run, we have helped over 500 kids. This race does, in fact, make a difference in these kids lives, so please come out and support the kids.
Here is the link to sign up for the run this year.