Run For Sarah: 13 Miles for 13 Years

13 miles for 13 years

A Father Honors His Daughter’s Legacy with Run

 

Chad Orton, full-time dad and part-time runner, will be doing a special run in memory of his daughter, Sarah Jayne Orton, on Saturday, May 15. Orton’s “Run for Sarah: 13 Miles for 13 Years” is a benefit fundraiser for the animals at the Baltimore Humane Society.

On Sarah Jayne’s birthday, instead of presents, she asked for donations to BHS. She passed away unexpectedly in October 2013, a few months after her fifth birthday from sepsis.

Every year beginning in 2014, Orton has taken part in a walk or 5k during the month of in May to honor the memory of his 5-year-old daughter. In 2019, he ran in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler as well as the Baltimore Running Festival as a member of Team Wein.

This May 15 would have been Sarah Jayne’s 13th birthday, and her dad plans to run one mile for each of those 13 years. To raise funds for the Sarah Jayne Orton Memorial Fund at BHS, he is asking for people to donate a dollar for every mile.

“My goal for this day and this run is to not only assist the BHS in raising much-needed funds,” Orton explained, “but to focus on Sarah and what a big heart she had in her five years. I also want to raise the awareness of sepsis. Among other symptoms, Covid-19 can also lead to sepsis – as can the flu, a scrape on your arm, recent surgery or a UTI. Sepsis takes more lives than prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined, and is more common than a heart attack.”

“I just want people to remember Sarah, and what an impact she has had on our lives and so many others – including the lives of countless shelter animals,” Orton said. “Between the Sarah Jayne Orton Memorial Fund at BHS and Sarah’s Cause, Inc., established in 2017 by Sarah’s family, over $155,000 has been raised and donated to animal shelters in Sarah’s name.”

Orton will complete his run at the Baltimore Humane Society’s Adoption Center (1601 Nicodemus Road; Reisterstown) between 1:00-1:30 pm on Saturday, May 15. The public is invited to cheer him on as he finishes his run in memory of his daughter, and he will make a presentation to BHS after his run is complete.

 

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