CULLMAN, Ala. – St. Bernard’s campus was full of friends, family, former teammates and other supporters Saturday morning as more than 150 runners came out to participate in the ninth annual Nicholas Fillinger Memorial Run. The annual event celebrating and remembering the life of Nicholas Fillinger who died tragically in a training accident in September 2013, is run at St. Bernard, one of Nicholas’ favorite places to run and benefits the Nicholas Fillinger Foundation.
Nicholas’ mother, Julie, has greatly appreciated the love and support her family has received from the community in their time of need and is proud that Nicholas’ memory is being used as a way to give back and help others.
“The plan is for the Run to continue for years. We have an incredible community that rallies around you in crisis or tragedy. We have experienced tremendous love and support since day one. Nicholas was amazing and so it means a lot that he is not forgotten. People show that by showing up. But it goes beyond not forgetting him,” Fillinger said. “The NF Run uses Nicholas’ memory to encourage people to give of themselves for something greater. And that has eternal significance! The Run is our Foundation’s only fundraiser. People give of their time, talent, and treasure as volunteers, runners, and sponsors. And when we see all that coming together to help orphans in Peru, provide for a scholarship, and promote safe training, we are comforted. But the greatest joy is for someone’s life to be changed for eternity. Nicholas would definitely have given his life for someone else’s. He was that kind of kid. If God uses his story or us surviving this loss in a way that speaks the Truth of how to know for sure you have eternal life and therefore Hope, then we have peace.”
Following the completion of the race and before handing out awards, Nicholas’ parents, Eric and Julie, took a few moments to speak to the crowd about the help this event provides to so many people and how much their support has meant to them.
“First, I want to thank all of our volunteers. We have an incredible amount of volunteers, there are probably 60 volunteers that come out and give of their time in all kinds of different ways that make this a possibility,” Julie said. “Our sponsors have been incredible. We have a lot of the same sponsors year after year, and they just want to do it. I always give them an out in case they want out, but they just want to keep coming back and doing it.”
“Today we come together to remember our beloved friend, teammate, brother, son. It’s good to see a lot of Nicholas’ classmates here. We honor his memory by helping a cause that we know Nicholas would have been so passionate about,” Eric said. “Those classmates could tell you that he was a defender of that person that was being bullied or the person who didn’t get a good hand dealt to them so to speak. So, to rescue these boys from human trafficking and abandonment, Nicholas would have been all about that and that’s part of the reason we chose it.”
Before moving on to the awards ceremony, Julie thanked all those who came out to show their support, especially the friends and classmates of Nicholas that were able to make it to the event.
“Today is about remembering Nicholas and using his memory for something that’s greater than ourselves and you guys are all a part of that and that means so much to us,” Fillinger said. “One thing I’ve been learning over the years is that our surviving the loss, that’s family, friends and teammates that miss him and remember him, them surviving it and the way they survive is also a testimony. That’s why it means so much to me to see teammates and friends and classmates come back. Even for all of you that didn’t know Nicholas, you’re here and you’re a part of this so thank you very much.”
To find a full list of results from this year’s run, check the Nicholas Fillinger Memorial Run’s Facebook page for results posted sometime this weekend.
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