DAV 5K expands, highlights service and sacrifice of the nation’s heroes

Marine veteran Jose Sanchez carries the American flag during the inaugural DAV 5K in San Antonio. Sanchez, who was wounded by an improvised explosive device in 2011 while on patrol in Afghanistan, made headlines this year by completing the 26-mile Boston Marathon the same way. (Photo by Campfire Visuals)

For the second year, Navy veteran Laurie Wood took part in the DAV 5K in Newport News, Va., and she’s two for two bringing home the top prize in the handcycle division.

Wood, who became paralyzed during a training accident in 2012, hasn’t let her injuries stand in the way of her goals—and events like the DAV 5K have given her not just a path to excel but also a way to stay connected to the veteran community.

“I return each year because it’s such a fun way for people to show support, give thanks and honor our veterans,” said Wood.

DAV’s Run to Honor Veterans 5K series, now in its fifth year, expanded to six cities—Atlanta; Boston; Cincinnati; San Antonio; Newport News; and Tulsa, Okla.—bringing together thousands of participants, veterans and veteran supporters over a two week period in November.

“It is a way to gather as a community and thank veterans publicly,” said National Commander Delphine Metcalf-Foster, who participated in this year’s inaugural DAV 5K in San Antonio. “But it’s also very important to let people know what DAV does and for veterans to know they are not alone. And we’re so grateful for all our participants who come out to stand up for and support veterans in their communities.”

In 2017, more than 9,000 people took part in the DAV 5K series, and they did so for countless reasons, from dedicating the race to family members who served to simply showing the support the community has for its veterans.

“I could not be more pleased with our host cities, our participants, our sponsors and the 800 volunteers it took to have another successful 5K race series,” said National Adjutant Marc Burgess. “By getting into new communities, we are able to bring more awareness to the issues facing our veterans. Ultimately, that helps us serve more veterans at no cost to them or their families.”

Forty-one percent of this year’s series participants were veterans themselves, and many participated as a way to thank DAV for services provided to them personally.

“DAV was instrumental in helping me get service-connected compensation and, more importantly, service-connected medical support at the New Hampshire VA,” said Army veteran Barton Rice, an Iraq War veteran who took part in the Boston event. “Supporting the DAV 5K provides critical resources for the myriad of veterans programs that support, assist and change the lives of countless American veterans. It is through the direct support of events like the DAV 5K that the DAV is able to continue to provide these fantastic programs. Your contributions are essential to supporting DAV’s mission.”

With so many veterans taking part, the series also serves as a reunion of sorts and renews the sense of camaraderie that so many veterans are familiar with from their time in the military.

“Being able to run with other veterans and support a great organization makes it all worth it,” said Rice. “The event is first class, from the overall execution down to the service-identified race gear.”

Regardless of where or why individuals took part in the 2017 DAV 5K race series, for participants like Army veteran Justin Barker, the event had a strong impact.

“The 5K was simply an amazing experience for me,” said Barker, an Afghanistan War veteran. “All along the way, I kept thinking about how motivating of an event this is—people cheering you on the entire time. As a veteran, I appreciate all of the work DAV does to help veterans and their families. The DAV 5K is a great event for all of us to come together and show support for veterans and service members.”

 

Learn more online:

Information about the 2018 DAV 5K race series will be available at dav.org.