9/11 Remembered with Run

The bell tolled 184 times. With each ding, the nearly three-hundred who gathered at the starting line of the High Cloud Foundation Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Half Marathon on Saturday morning remembered a life lost at the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks, nine years ago to the day.

The 13.1 mile run, held for the fourth time since 2006, commenced just after 8:00 a.m. and stretched along the C&O Towpath in Georgetown. The briskness of the air and gleam of the sun made for ideal running conditions, says Kay LaBanca and Maddy Buck, frequent marathon runners who teach middle schoolers in Gaithersburg, MD.
 
Jay Jacob Wind, the Secretary and Director of the Marathon Charity Cooperation, founded this event in commemoration of two significant events on history's timeline.  While the race is run in solemn remembrance of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it is also a celebration of Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila's barefoot win of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, 50 years ago this week.

Sponsored by Georgetown Running Company, the event drew in participants from 23 states plus D.C., including international entrants and spectators from such countries as Italy, France, Canada and Ethiopia.

Look back tomorrow for a video of the ceremony.