Thousands recently gathered for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend to raise funds for the children’s research hospital, with several individuals from this area running along with the rest of the participants.

This is a major annual fundraising event for the organization which sees participants running a 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon as they raise money as an individual or team.

This year, St. Jude reported over 22,000 participants managing to fundraise just over $13 million as of press time.

Among the many individuals running through the streets of Memphis in early December was CJ Runyon of Waterloo, who said she’s been participating for several years now.

Runyon first started running for her daughter Hailey, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at a very young age.

At some point, Runyon organized Hailey’s Herd, which has been participating in the Memphis Marathon and/or St. Jude Walk/Run for 15 years.

Runyon said Hailey’s Herd managed to raise $2,250 for the charity this year, with $82,000 raised over the group’s history.

With Hailey now 21 and in good health, Runyon described how difficult she remembered it was to be in the hospital with her daughter, going on to say how touched she was to see the many people at the Memphis event.

“It is very moving as a parent of a child and to see others and how we all come to support people and support each other,” Runyon said. “There’s just a sense of people coming together and supporting one another, and some sharing their successes and then others sharing their losses.”

Barb Zarzeck spoke similarly about the emotion tied to the event. She was another local participant in this year’s Memphis Marathon and has been running in it for seven years.

Zarzeck said she first started participating in the marathon due to Hailey, though this year it was young leukemia patient Elsa Wiemerslage and several other folks that brought her to Memphis.

She described the overall atmosphere of the run, from the large groups of people being sent off on the run every 10 minutes to the countless individuals along the route with drinks and food.

Zarzeck also said every run takes you through the St. Jude campus, and the sight of individuals from the hospital can get especially emotional.

“When you run … part of your run goes through the St. Jude campus, and doctors are out there, kids are out there, parents are out there, and they’re cheering everybody on that’s running through that,” Zarzeck said.

Both Runyon and Zarzeck spoke about the sight of the many signs along the route – particularly in the campus – featuring names and snippets of individuals’ stories.

Zarzeck spoke quite positively in general about the marathon as both an emotional and enjoyable experience and encouraged others to try it out themselves.

“If I can run, anybody can run,” Zarzeck said. “Even if you go there and just walk it, it’s amazing. It’s just so amazing.”

For more information on the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend, visit stjude.org.