SwiftVets.com

[olympian2004]

Run providing a boon for Tillman Foundation

MEL REISNER

Associated Press

PHOENIX - When Perry Edinger decided to honor Pat Tillman, one of the most famed athletes to wear Arizona State's maroon and gold, he expected plenty of support - and got it.

The groundswell of people signing up for a race in the slain Army Ranger's memory has forced organizers to add extra volunteers and issue warnings about heavy morning traffic around the campus in suburban Tempe on Saturday.

What wasn't anticipated was the corporate support - enough to pay the $65,000 cost of staging the event in honor of Tillman, who grew up in San Jose, Calif.

With more than 4,000 entrants as of Thursday, that could mean more than $100,000 dedicated to carrying on Tillman's legacy of self-improvement through the Pat Tillman Foundation.

"We were able to get enough sponsors for the run so that everyone's registration fee will go directly to the foundation," Edinger said. "That was another goal. We weren't able to say we'd get there at the start, but now we can."

The 4.2-mile run will begin on Packard Drive, close to Sun Devil Stadium, wind around Tempe Town Lake and finish on the 42-yard line of the stadium, where the 2005 football team will finish spring practice with a controlled scrimmage later.

The number is important because Tillman wore a No. 42 jersey with the Sun Devils, switching to No. 40 with the Arizona Cardinals.

The field will include entrants from at least 37 states and the United Kingdom.

Edinger, Arizona State's head trainer when Tillman was in college and now a spinal care specialist at the Scottsdale Rehab Institute, dreamed up the event with some friends at a tavern after learning of Tillman's death in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.

Some doubters told him not to reach too high.

"I was told by a number of people in the know about running events to expect 700 to 800 people, and if I got that it would be a great first-time event, and I kept saying, 'No, you're not taking into account everything about this. It's about Pat, people are signing up, and they want to participate.'"

Tillman had an exceptional college football career as an undersized linebacker, earning the Pac-10's 1997 defensive player of the year award, and was a starter for the Cardinals, who switched him to safety. But his story didn't catch national attention until he walked away from a $1.2 million-a-year contract to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Tillman, 27, was killed by friendly fire while trying to rescue other soldiers who had been ambushed. He was the first NFL player to die in combat since Vietnam.

http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/sports/other_sports/11396690.htm
_________________
Tony in Boulder, Colorado