May 20, 2017 was an amazing day!
We had many friends and family from various locations come to town to join us for our first 5k to fund pediatric brain tumor research. It was so great to see so many people who have been with us along the way and to get to share the joy that is Tillery's current health. But all those special friends and family only made up about half the crowd. The others were runners, philanthropists, and people just looking for something to do on a Saturday morning. We were so thrilled to expose a group of fresh faces to our cause and we left there with many new advocates for childhood cancer.
We had 4 awesome kids with us who are currently survivors or fighters who are winning the battle. Having friends like Brody, Wyatt, and Dallas alongside Tillery was a great way to show the crowd of about 150 runners who they were running for. We also had our new advocate mama friend Elizabeth there. She wasn't able to bring her daughter because Julia passed away last May from a DIPG brain stem tumor. The reality of our pediatric brain tumor world was staring these runners in the face. Also, standing with us was our hero, Dr. Sue Spiller. Dr. Spiller is the pediatric oncologist who treats many of the brain tumor kids in the region at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. Dr. Spiller even came ready to run for Tillery with her hair in a side ponytail!
It was a beautiful day for a run and after a few words from Joe, the crowd made their way to the start line. While so many were out pushing themselves on the course, Tillery was socializing on the playground and making new friends with people who had come out in support. Tillery posed for many pictures and told many stories to her new friends.
Top Finishers were:
Men's 1st Place: Eric Suchyta, 20:51
Men's 2nd Place: Bradley Farmer, 21:59
Men's 3rd Place: Andrew Keller, 23:08
Women's 1st Place: Jennie Tillery, 24:02
Women's 2nd Place: Macy Caldwell, 24:32
Women's 3rd Place: Dr. Sue Spiller!!, 27:48
Many thanks to all who participated and our awesome sponsors:
Holston Methodist Federal Credit Union
Ingles Markets
106.7 The Light
Fleet Feet
Acme Printing
Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop
Powell Church
With the help of our sponsors, our participants, and other donations, we raised over $10,000 to fund pediatric brain tumor research grants!
Plans are already in the works for the 2nd Annual Tillery's Hustle for Hope 5k.
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