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mokenamessenger.com news
the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 5
Our Fallen Hero 5K draws more than 500
Event supports Pat
Tillman Foundation,
honors Pfc. Aaron
Toppen
Chris Walker
Freelance Reporter
Colin Vetor, 11, crosses the finish line and takes second place Sept. 24 during the Our
Fallen Hero 5K Run/Walk. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
A knee injury kept Megan
Horsch from running in the
Our Fallen Hero 5K Run/
Walk last year. It would not
stop her this year.
The third annual event
honored the sacrifice made
by Pfc. Aaron Toppen, who
grew up in Mokena and graduated
from Lincoln-Way East
in 2013. Toppen lost his life
during a joint operation of
Afghan and NATO forces in
the summer of 2014, according
to the Our Fallen Hero
5K Run/Walk website.
Horsch was Toppen’s
fourth-grade teacher at Mokena
Intermediate School.
She had only been in her second
or third year of teaching
when she had Toppen as her
student, she said.
“It’s crazy to think about,”
Horsch said. “I’ll always participate
in this. Last year with
my knee injury, I couldn’t
do it, but I brought about 20
kids, and we volunteered at
water stations. This year, I
was happy to be back to running.”
The race was held Sept. 24
on a USA Track & Field certified
course that started in the
parking lot of Willowview
Park in Mokena. The route
took runners and walkers
alike through the streets of
Mokena and offered the challenge
of some hilly terrain.
During the walk, Horsch
found herself reminiscing
about Toppen when he was a
bright, happy youngster.
“He was one of those kids
that always stood out. Just
such a bright kid, and fun,”
she said. “I have a photo album
of a lot of my [teaching]
years, and that year he was
in so many pictures because
he was like the center of attention
in a positive way. He
was dancing or entertaining.
He was a bright light in my
class.”
The event also raised
money for the Pat Tillman
Foundation, which has invested
nearly $14 million in
academic support and scholarships
for U.S. veterans and
their spouses, according to
the foundation’s website.
Among those who came to
support the cause was Frankfort
resident Amanda Taylor,
an avid runner and member
of the Frankfort/New Lenox
Running Club. Taylor said
this year was her first participating
in the event.
“One of my friends helps
organize it, so she told me
about it,” she said. “It’s for a
good cause. A nice local race,
and I’m runner. ... It was a
little hilly, but other than that,
it was really well.”
Mokena’s Emily Koss ran
Members of the Mokena Junior High School cross country
team stretch before the start of the Our Fallen Hero 5K
Run/Walk.
with her boyfriend, Ben Reiff,
of Wheeling. The couple
has been pursuing running
more, and the event gave
them an opportunity to compete.
Koss is a Lincoln-Way
East graduate, so the cause
hit close to home.
“I didn’t know [Toppen]
well, but I know some people
who did,” she said. “I ran into
a lot of people I knew from
school, which was nice.”
The fact that both Koss and
Reiff met their running goal
was an added bonus.
“We set a goal to do a sub-
28 for the 5K, and we got
it,” Reiff said. “So this was a
nice step in the process, and
we did it while supporting a
good cause, which was nice.”
The Griffins football team
also ran in the race, which
was no small feat given that
they played a football game
the previous night. Tinley
Park’s Mary Frances Tesher
Betty Winter, Pfc. Aaron Toppen’s grandmother, watches
the race Sept. 24 in Mokena.
Karen (left) and Katie Wallace, of Mokena, look at raffle
prizes during the Our Fallen Hero 5K Run/Walk.
had fun running with them.
“The football team was
hilarious,” she said. “They
would sprint and then they
would walk, and then we
heard them say, ‘We’ve got
to beat those moms,’ so it was
a lot of fun... All around, this
was a great race.”
Food from Chick-fil-A, raffles
and complimentary massages
were just a couple of the
added bonuses that participants
enjoyed after the event.
Orland Park’s Kevin Leary
was on hand along with about
35 employees from Tinley
Park company W.H. Leary.
He ran alongside his wife,
Cindy, who was pushing their
granddaughter, Aubrey, in a
stroller.
“I’m not really a runner,
but I like to support all the
different causes in the area,”
Leary said. “It was well put
together, and this is good for
morale for our company. It’s
nice to do stuff outside of
work together.”
More than 500 people finished
the race total.
Mokena’s Tim Scanlin was
the top finisher (17:10.2).
Runner-up Colin Vetor,
an 11-year-old from New
Lenox, crossed the finish line
in 19:26.7, and Mokena’s
Jack Morinec took third with
a time of 19:47.4. Mokena’s
Sarah Scanlin, a Lincoln-
Way East alum, was the top
women’s finisher with a time
of 20:34.4.