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| By Danielle Paine, Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW More than $6,000 was raised for Army Sgt. Mark R. Ecker II when 125 area residents participated in a road race at Hasbro Games Corporation on May 20. Ecker, a 21-year-old East Longmeadow native, lost both of his feet in a Feb. 23 explosion while serving in Ramadi, Iraq. This first Run for Pride road race was the brainchild of Race Director Kevin Brenker who wanted to do his part to help the Ecker family with travel expenses as Ecker currently undergoes months of physical therapy with prosthetic feet at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. "I saw this image in my mind of my own son who is 17 and Ecker who is 21 and has just finished his second tour in Iraq," Brenker said about putting the effort together in just seven weeks. "I just felt we had to do something other than put a magnetic "support the troops" ribbon on our bumpers and Ecker was the captain of his cross-country team in high school so a road race sounded like it would be a good thing to do." Many area businesses sponsored the event and donated items for a raffle of more than 50 prizes. Hasbro, also the employer of Ecker's mother-in-law, hosted the event. The IBM Corporation, where both Brenker and Ecker's father work, was also a major sponsor. Brenker said that 125 people in all either walked or ran the 5K course with Ryan Corbett (17:37) and Lisa Maciorakowski (20:26) earning first place finishes. "This is a good way for us as a community to say thank you for his service," Brenker said. "It was really a show of support and strength for Mark Ecker and that is really what we were looking to do." As for plans to hold the benefit again next spring, Brenker would like to continue but will possibly broaden the spectrum of beneficiaries. "My hope is that Sgt. Ecker will be in a position that we won't have to do this for him specifically next year," Brenker said. "Run for Pride might take on a different meaning in a larger scope if we do it again next year." |