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Fourth annual Pat's Run

Fundraiser benefits Pat Tillman Foundation scholarships

More than 200 participants attended the fourth annual Pat’s Run, which started at Cummings Park along Ruston Way. Photo credit: Andrew Fickes

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Cummings Park along Ruston Way on Tacoma's waterfront last Saturday morning was a flurry of activity as runners, walkers and young families with strollers gathered for the fourth annual Pat's Run, to fundraise for scholarships distributed to military veterans and their spouses by the Pat Tillman Foundation.

More than 200 participants attended. Fortunately, the overcast skies didn't release any rain and the temperature was cool and crisp.

"I think this will only get bigger," said Tara Boucher, chair of the Tacoma Pat's Run. "We had more sponsors this year."

Starbucks was one of the many sponsors. About 15 Starbucks partners - many of them based at the Highway 512 and South Tacoma Way military community Starbucks - came out for the event and hauled in coffee, fruit and a variety of pastries.

"This is our second year being involved with Pat's Run," said Rikki Shattuck, a lead partner for the team. "Getting the partners involved and doing a volunteer event is great."

Boucher said Starbucks did an amazing job.  Other sponsors were GNC, KPMG, and Road Runner Sports. Boucher said KPMG, a financial services company, incentivized their employees to be part of the run and paid their registration fee. KPMG received an award for having the largest contingent of people participating in the run.

"At the after-event at The Swiss, one of their runners won a signed Seahawks football, which was really cool," Boucher said.

Arizona State University Alumni Association, also a main sponsor, was represented well Saturday morning. Aditya Mohan, a 1993 ASU graduate, came down to Tacoma from Newcastle to participate for the fourth year.

"It is a nice ASU alumni reunion," Mohan said. "I would say the majority of participants today are alumni of ASU."

Mohan said it would be nice to make the Tacoma Pat's Run more mainstream by raising the awareness of the fundraiser event beyond the ASU circle.

Mohan reminisced on his time at ASU.

"I was at the Rose Bowl in 1996," he said. "When (Pat) Tillman played, we were literally ten seconds away from being national champions. Tillman was always an amazing player."

Boucher said moving forward, she wants the momentum around the cause to get bigger. "We're going to do more running events year-round," Boucher said. "They will be at no cost."

She said they will be doing more with their partners: Road Runner Sports; Red, White and Blue; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

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