Running ‘like a mother’ this Mother’s Day means running for a cause
Keller Williams Realty is asking everyone, parent or not, to “run like a mother” this Mother’s Day, May 10, for their annual 5K and one-mile walk at Moraine State Park.
Brandy Kight, a real estate agent at the Pittsburgh Keller Williams office and organizer of the race, said the event is put on through KW’s RED Day, an annual effort to give back.
The effort is done in commemoration of former CEO Mo Anderson’s birthday. Kight said the business is committed to connecting with the communities they operate in as well as honoring an influential figure in the company’s history.
Recently, Kight said, time was dedicated to stuffing race day bags.
The race came to Kight as a rough idea. After doing smaller volunteer events, such as trash pickup, she thought they could handle a larger, sponsored benefit.
Kight emphasized her co-director, Erin Sellinger’s, ability to make the ideas a reality. The two created and help sustain the event year after year.
“She can finish my sentences and bring my visions to life,” Kight said.
The race benefits the Butler Chapter of Isaiah 117 House, an organization that provides a safe space for foster children being removed from their homes.
The cause hits home for Kight, having been a foster parent herself.
“These kids really are coming to you with garbage bags,” Kight said.
The organization smooths the transition for foster children and their families, while also lifting weight off social services.
Even in the first year of the race, registration numbers were well into the 200s, Kight said. Now, in the third year of the race, it still racks up an average of about 200 runners by the time registration closes. Kight said the last week prior gets an influx of sign ups, and the paved bike trail along the beach is a popular course among participants.
“We’ve had so many people come back and tell us how much they love the course,” Kight said.
The race has cash prizes for first place winners in each age group. Male and female overall winners receive group-sponsored memorial cash prizes.
The overall winner in the male category is awarded the Donny Bayne Memorial Award, in memory of Donald D. Bayne. Bayne is an icon in the local race scene. As a founder of the Butler Road Race, he’s honored with an award there as well. He was an avid runner, ran the Boston Marathon several times and was a huge supporter of youth sports.
The first place overall award in the women’s category is the Princess Zoe Memorial Award to honor the late Zoe Heitzenrater. Heitzenrater was only 24 when she died. She was a lover of anything nature and hiking.
“Zoe was a light, she lit up a room,” Kight said.
The annual Run Like a Mother 5K and one mile walk is held on Mother’s Day, May 10. The 5K begins at 9 a.m. and the walk starts at 9:10 a.m.
Runners can check in at pavilion #4 on race day near the North Shore Beach and participate in a warmup led by the Butler Burn Boot Camp. Timing is done by Miles of Smiles.
