Run/Walk event creates raises more than $15,000
More than 800 runners and walkers were out in full force for the recent 4th Annual Katie’s Run in New Hyde Park. The run honored Katie McBride, who passed away five years ago from Burkitts Lymphoma. She was 11 years old.
Ryan McDermott, a Chaminade High School graduate finished as overall winner to take the Mayor’s for a second year in a row with a time of 17:24. The overall female champion was SUNY New Paltz All-American Amanda Wolfer from Woodbury.
The Karen Kueffner Memorial Award, which is given to the first female New Hyde Park resident winner, went to Leslie Hiller with a time of 22:46. The first male New Hyde Park resident finisher was 16-year-old Peter Kienan for the second year in a row, with a time of 19:34.
The event benefits the Ronald McDonald House, where Katie’s family spent countless hours during her treatment. Her father Michael McBride, director of the New Hyde Park Funeral Home, would go from dropping his sons off at school, to the House, back to work and then pick his sons up. Since 2010, the run has raised $41,000.
“Having the ability to have [my wife] Jean go over there twice a day…was very helpful for us, which is why we chose [Ronald McDonald House] to be the beneficiary [of the race],” he said.
McBride wants the overall message of this run to serve as a memory to his beloved daughter and as a settling effect on parents who are or were in his position at one time.
“I was very comforted when Katie was being treated, when I spoke to the parents who were in our position,” he said. “These people are helpful. They couldn’t say anything that could fix it, but was helpful. The goal is to keep Katie’s memory alive, support the Ronald McDonald House and to help other family’s going through similar situations.”
The Kate McBride Foundation went a step further this year, awarding three $1,000 scholarships, the first ever for the run. The three winners will attend Boston College, Stanford and Cornell universities.
“We’re going to be giving out three scholarships every year,” McBride said. “One to a Chaminade student, one to an East Islip student and the third, next year, a student at New Hyde Park Memorial High School. This year, [the third scholarship] was given to a student that was in need out in Islip Terrace.”
Chaminade High School picked graduate Domenick Fazzalari to receive the award and will start at Boston in the fall while Grace Ravello of East Islip wrote essay detailing how cancer affected their lives, winning the scholarship and will attend Cornell. Ravello’s dad is in remission from cancer.
“Katie would have been a year behind [Ravello],” McBride said.
Jordan Duprey from Islip Terrace will attend Stanford.
“I think we’re going in the right direction,” he said. “We always wanted to make it an event we can be proud of. It’s getting bigger on [the running scale] but we’re trying to get the word out to the community as a whole.”
The day after the race, McBride said a family friends son battling was admitted to Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, with no feeling in his right arm and needed emergency surgery to remove a tumor in his head. McBride and Mike Pfeiffer, chief development officer of Ronald McDonald House gave a check to the family to cover expenses.
“Just to help them out going back and forth [to the hospital] and to let them know the Ronald McDonald House is there for them like they were there for me,” said McBride. I’m happy that I can help, whether its gas money for hospital visits or anything else.”
