Race connects Springs with Rwanda
The Mountaintop
Journal Serving the Front Range with news of hope and encouragement.
August 2014
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Colorado Springs, Colorado
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Vol. 1, No. 2
Race connects Springs with Rwanda Funds help build village’s clinic, support education
There are many 5K races each year in Colorado Springs, but perhaps none carry more meaning than the 2014 Run For Rwanda. Scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at Cottonwood Creek Park (the northwest corner of Dublin Boulevard and Rangewood Drive in Colorado Springs) and simultaneously in Kibali, Rwanda, this year’s race marks the seventh annual event with an important mission. Since its inception in 2007, the Run for Rwanda has raised more than $100,000 to assist a small village, Kibali, build a much-needed health clinic. The benefit race also has raised money for primary and secondary school scholarships for Kibali’s children and livestock for its community. While this year’s race will continue to support the clinic effort and scholarships — the goal for 2014 is $15,000 — the Colorado Springs race carries special significance for race coordinator Kevin Werner. It will be the first race since his wife, Heather, lost her four-year battle with cancer in May. For the past four years, Heather has been one of the biggest supporters of the race and her long-distance friends in Kibali. Race founder, Steve Flannery, said losing Heather to cancer was an emotional blow. But this year’s race will go on as planned, just like Heather would have wanted. “Even with the serious terminal condition that she was in, her life wasn’t about being sick,” Flannery said. “It was about touching other lives. She wanted to be a blessing to others.” Race history A high school teacher and former cross country coach, Flannery has been a runner most of his life. So when he visited Rwanda in 2007 with his church, the International Anglican Church
Race coordinator Kevin Werner (left) and race founder Steve Flannery pose with some of the unique trophies and “medals” that Run for Rwanda winners receive. The statues and banana-leaf medals are all crafted in Kibali, Rwanda.
(IAC) of Colorado Springs, it was only natural for him to go running many mornings with locals as his guides. “One thing we learned about was their hopes for their community,” he recalled. “But they are a desperately poor country. The average Rwandan is a subsistence farmer. They live on less than $1 a day. No medical care was really available in the Kibali region. Education is a struggle.” Flannery recalled meeting a disfigured young woman who had suffered an abscessed tooth but couldn’t get the care she needed. The untreated condition led to a cancerous tumor on her face, which reportedly led to her death. “It could have been treated early on with antibiotics,” he said. “Little things there can become life threatening. It made me want to do something.” After returning home, Flannery hatched an Race/See page 2
Heather Werner (right) lifts her hands in celebration as she finishes last year’s Run for Rwanda. She died in May and will be remembered at this year’s event.
Journal Serving the Front Range with news of hope and encouragement.
August 2014
•
Colorado Springs, Colorado
•
Vol. 1, No. 2
Race connects Springs with Rwanda Funds help build village’s clinic, support education
There are many 5K races each year in Colorado Springs, but perhaps none carry more meaning than the 2014 Run For Rwanda. Scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at Cottonwood Creek Park (the northwest corner of Dublin Boulevard and Rangewood Drive in Colorado Springs) and simultaneously in Kibali, Rwanda, this year’s race marks the seventh annual event with an important mission. Since its inception in 2007, the Run for Rwanda has raised more than $100,000 to assist a small village, Kibali, build a much-needed health clinic. The benefit race also has raised money for primary and secondary school scholarships for Kibali’s children and livestock for its community. While this year’s race will continue to support the clinic effort and scholarships — the goal for 2014 is $15,000 — the Colorado Springs race carries special significance for race coordinator Kevin Werner. It will be the first race since his wife, Heather, lost her four-year battle with cancer in May. For the past four years, Heather has been one of the biggest supporters of the race and her long-distance friends in Kibali. Race founder, Steve Flannery, said losing Heather to cancer was an emotional blow. But this year’s race will go on as planned, just like Heather would have wanted. “Even with the serious terminal condition that she was in, her life wasn’t about being sick,” Flannery said. “It was about touching other lives. She wanted to be a blessing to others.” Race history A high school teacher and former cross country coach, Flannery has been a runner most of his life. So when he visited Rwanda in 2007 with his church, the International Anglican Church
Race coordinator Kevin Werner (left) and race founder Steve Flannery pose with some of the unique trophies and “medals” that Run for Rwanda winners receive. The statues and banana-leaf medals are all crafted in Kibali, Rwanda.
(IAC) of Colorado Springs, it was only natural for him to go running many mornings with locals as his guides. “One thing we learned about was their hopes for their community,” he recalled. “But they are a desperately poor country. The average Rwandan is a subsistence farmer. They live on less than $1 a day. No medical care was really available in the Kibali region. Education is a struggle.” Flannery recalled meeting a disfigured young woman who had suffered an abscessed tooth but couldn’t get the care she needed. The untreated condition led to a cancerous tumor on her face, which reportedly led to her death. “It could have been treated early on with antibiotics,” he said. “Little things there can become life threatening. It made me want to do something.” After returning home, Flannery hatched an Race/See page 2
Heather Werner (right) lifts her hands in celebration as she finishes last year’s Run for Rwanda. She died in May and will be remembered at this year’s event.
