Remember the 10 Run to take place in April

Ten Oklahoma State basketball players, staff and broadcasters who died Jan. 27, 2001, will be honored in the sixth annual Remember the Ten Run.

Kerry Alexander, founder and chair of the run, said she found inspiration through a book called "Riding With the Blue Moth," written by Bill Hancock, father of Will Hancock, one of the 10 who died.

"He wrote about how he dealt with the loss of his son during a cross-country bicycle ride," Alexander said. "I was extremely moved by that."

Alexander, an OSU alumna, lost her father during her college years. She said she's passionate about raising awareness for grief counseling available to OSU students in similar situations.

"At the time of my father's passing, the counseling department was something I didn't even know existed," Alexander said. "When a community experiences something like this, you've got family members, friends, teammates and coaches in mourning, and that specialized training they provide gives these individuals skills to help them get over that type of loss."

Alexander said this event has not only celebrated the lives of the 10, but it also uses donated funds to help OSU counseling services create scholarships.

The run committee presented a check for $20,000 to OSU counseling services at Saturday's basketball game against Kansas State. Every year since 2007, the run has made this donation, Alexander said.

"The ultimate goal is to let those 10 families know that we care about them, and we care about the men we've lost, and that we will always remember them," Alexander said. "Hopefully we can provide better resources for students who go through these difficulties."

The Remember the Ten Run includes a 5K, 10K and one mile runs. This year's run will take place April 21 at OSU.

Dietetics sophomore Aly Villalon ran in 2010, and said it's worth the preparation.

"I think it's cool that we can come together as a family here at OSU and improve our counseling services while also keeping in mind the OSU family members we lost," Villalon said.

Registration for the run is online at www.remembertheten.com. Pre-registration is $25 and will remain open until April 20. Registration on the day of the event is $30.