Above / Participants in Sunday’s Judd-a-Thon charged to the finish line where runners in race bibs #424, #552 and #471 came in first, second and third.
After 2-minutes and 28.16-seconds, every single participant and one waltzing couple in the 2015 Judd-a-Thon had crossed the finish line set up in the road near the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion and behind the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.
Under glorious sunshine in the 60s, joyful participants ran, walked, rolled in wheelchairs and danced the .1K route, about the length of a football field.
Organizers were thrilled to report the second annual “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” fun run already had raised more than last year’s total ($13,000-plus) for the VFW National Home for Children, in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
Though they didn’t have the exact final tally just yet, Judd-a-Thon organizers said members from the VFW Post aimed to deliver 100 percent of the funds raised to the temporary residence for veterans and their families during a visit scheduled the weekend of Sept. 26.
For the second year, Ryan Parker (#424), son of Senior Vice Commander Tom Parker of the VFW, defended his first-place 2014 championship with another winning run this year.
Above / The race bibs told the story of the top three medal winners. First place went to #424, second to #552 and third place to #471.
In the over 70-year-old category, Vietnam Veteran Butch Saylor won first. And in the over 80-year-old category, World War II Veteran George Hogrew was the victor.
After the run, hundreds of friends and families gathered outside on the patio of the VFW Post for a hot dog brunch, fellowship and a few toasts to the event’s success. Plenty of resounding applause greeted each medal winner during the awards presentation.
Calling the shots from the get-go, veteran Marine Dave Szablewski drew raffle tickets for prizes donated by many local merchants that also went quickly.
Folks who dressed up in costumes also could vie for a prize. This year a runner dressed as the Lone Ranger on a hobby horse rode to victory.
Above / Some runners dressed in costume to vie for a prize. The winner was the Lone Ranger and his hobby horse, complete with musical sound effects from the William Tell Overture. Folks kept asking, “Who was that masked man?”
Event planner for Post 3873, Pablo Araya again served as race director, admitting he had been a naysayer when the idea of a .1K was first proposed last year. The short run copied the successful format created by VFW Post 805 in O’Fallon, Illinois, also to benefit the VFW National Home.
Araya served as a pilot for 7.5 years in the U.S. Navy, including service during the large maritime tanker convoy known as Operation Earnest Will in 1987 under President Ronald Reagan. Now Junior Vice Commander of the Judd Kendall VFW Post, Araya is responsible for activities, programs and projects at the Post.
“It’s my job to organize entertainment,” Araya explained. “…And I never want to do anything,” he joked.
In the long run, Araya noted he’s had experience organizing marathons for troops as far away as Japan.
“The only real difference between a marathon and the Judd-a-thon is the short distance of the course,” Araya said. “There are still many moving parts—race shirts, food, marketing, volunteers, closing roads, permits with the park district. All of it has to come together. The volunteers here made it happen because we all work as a team. So we’ll keep going.”
Above / On behalf of the VFW National Home for Children, Mike McGrath expressed sincere appreciation to race director Pablo Araya for the success of the 2nd Annual Judd-a-Thon.
The VFW National Home supports the children and families of killed or injured veterans, all the way from kindergarten through 12th grade, according to Mike McGrath, who serves on the Board of Trustees for the VFW National Home as well as an Illinois VFW Director.
“The National Home is 90 years old this year,” added McGrath. “It’s been serving veterans and their families since World War I and all through World War II, Korea, Vietnam and up to the present.”
McGrath went on to explain that “troops that have had multiple deployments in recent years—men and women who might be struggling —also will find help with the National Home helpline, a free service that offers a caring person to listen.”
For more information about the VFW National Home, visit www.vfwnationalhome.org.
For assistance on the helpline (not a hotline) between the hours of 8AM and 4:30PM EST, call (800) 313-4200 or visit the Help Hope Honor website.
Veteran Mike Barbour who handles publicity for the Judd-a-Thon suggested saving a little time next year for another race. “It’ll probably be this same Sunday,” he said, no longer clad in his boas and top hat.
More Judd-a-Thon photos
Editor’s Note / In addition to PN photos featured above, James Hoch Photography has provided his link to the photos he took from start to finish.
And then there’s this update from Mike Barbour…
For all who participated in the Judd-A-Thon thank you. Great event. Many did COME FOR THE RUN AND STAY FOR THE FUN. … The link below has several videos that were recorded an uploaded to YouTube. The one that is the best is the one from Al Assad in Iraq. One of our Post members is over there now and his unit ran the Judd A Thon at the same time we did and uploaded the video. We shipped them their shirts but they didn’t get there in time. They will send pictures when they get the shirts. We can now say the Judd-A-Thon is global.
