Pat's Run Keeps Tillman's Legacy Alive

Pat's Run is coming. You have one week to get in shape.

On second thought, don't worry about getting in shape. Just run, or walk, or roll. Just participate. That's what Pat would have done.

While most of the sporting world in April turns its attention to the opening of baseball season, the NBA and NHL playoffs and the NFL Draft, two cities prepare for an event that, while associated with sports, should resonate with all Americans: Pat's Run, which honors the legacy of former U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

His association with sports comes obviously from his football exploits at Arizona State University and with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, but his place in history is framed by his decision to walk away from the NFL at age 25 to become a U.S. Army Ranger. Inspired by a sense of duty in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Tillman saw a greater purpose to his life and chose to serve his country. He was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.

The story of Pat's life and the people he impacted transcends sports. It is the reason his family and friend created the Pat Tillman Foundation with a mission statement to help people make positive changes in themselves and the people around them. Its flagship program, Leadership Through Action, was implemented at his alma mater Arizona State in 2005, and its chief fundraising and awareness event, Pat's Run, kicked off the same year in Tempe, Ariz.

We're just a week away now from the Fifth Annual Pat's Run in Tempe, April 18, followed by the Fourth Annual Pat's Run in his hometown of San Jose, Calif., April 25. The event has grown enormously since its inception, with a record a record of more than 15,000 people representating nearly every state taking part in last year's Tempe run and more than 5,000 in San Jose.

If you can get there, do it. If you can't, please consider donating to the Pat Tillman Foundation, and honoring the legacy of a great American. I didn't know Pat well; I met him through my work in the ASU athletic department when he was a freshman. But if you met him once, you'll never forget him.

Learn more at www.pattillmanfoundation.org and www.patsrun.com.

--Paul Kirk / www.prolinksports.net