Hundreds run to remember January 2001 plane crash victims

About 900 people of all ages walked and ran Saturday in the first Remember the Ten Run, founded to honor and celebrate the lives of the 10 members of the OSU basketball family who died in the January 2001 plane crash.


 
The event also helped raise the profile of counseling on campus, said Kerry Alexander, the event founder, chairman and OSU alumnus.


 
Many people, from those in strollers to adults of all ages, participated in a 5K, 10K or one-mile fun run.


 
"Our job was to get people here," Alexander said. "Our job was pretty easy today."


 
With registration fees and about $45,000 more in corporate sponsors, the race raised between $65,000 and $70,000 for OSU counseling.


 
"The event far exceeded our expectations," said Becky Shipley, the registration chairwoman. "The response has been overwhelming."


 
A little before 9 a.m., former OSU president James Halligan spoke to the runners about how the race would fulfill a commitment made more than 6 years ago.


 
"As you all remember, we committed that we will remember," he said. "Let us remember these names, and may they rest in peace."


 
He then read the 10 names of those who died.


 
At 9 a.m., former OSU athletic director Harry Birdwell kicked off the 5K race.


 
About 10 minutes later, the 10k race began and Alexander told the runners they especially were running in the memory of the 10.


 
"When this event came about the idea was to have a 10K for the 10," he said. "You're running in their memory."


 
However, no matter which race people chose to participate in, they agreed that it was for a good cause.


 
Christopher Carlton, a biological sciences junior, said that he wanted to run to honor the 10.


 
"I ran to commemorate the 10 who lost their lives in the plane crash," he said. "I'm glad to see so many runners out here."


 
Even a University of Oklahoma graduate thought the cause was a good reason to run.


 
Tom Linihan, superintendant of Adair Public Schools and whose son Brent Linihan is an OSU freshman, said he wanted to run because the race benefited OSU counseling.


 
"I'm an OU graduate, but I think it's a good cause," he said. "Grief counseling is an important part of a college campus because college students have enough pressure, much less when you throw a traumatic experience on top of that."


 
At 10:30 a.m., once all the runners had made it across the finish line, Eddie Sutton, the honorary chairman, spoke before trophies were handed out.


 
"For everyone who participated, you're all winners as far as I'm concerned," he said. "My thanks for everyone who came out here."


 
All participants received medals, but the top three male and female finishers in the 5K and 10K runs received trophies resembling the statue of the cowboy kneeling by the memorial.


 
Alexander said that he was happy with the response and that the families of the 10 appreciated it as well.


 
"I think the families have been extremely touched by the event," he said.


 
"I'm completely awed by how Cowboy fans reacted to the families and how the came out."


 
The Remember the 10 Run will be an annual event taking place the third Saturday in April.