KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Everyone had a reason to run at the annual Going the Distance for Brain Injury run on Monday morning.
Whether it's for friends, family, or themselves, everyone's motivated by something.
"I started running and thought this was gonna be a great race, and he’s a veteran, so what better thing to do on Memorial Day," said Jordan Stone, a runner who participated with her father, Dane.
"It’s for my brother Brett; we called him 'Bizz,'" said Lauren Boal, another runner. "He passed away 10 years ago from a brain injury."
But this year's event had a special honoree: Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot in the head in 2023.
Andrew Lester is charged first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Yarl.
He and his family walked for other families who have felt their pain.
"We all need that hope, especially the families that are care giving for people with brain injury," said Cleo Nagbe, Yarl's mother. "We all need that hope, because it’s hard."
Other family member's of Yarl's, like his aunt Faith Spoonmore, showed up to support him.
"I am here today because this is something that I did not see myself doing," Spoonmore said. "However, life is full of surprises and full of twists and turns."
She brought with her her homemade bracelets made from recycled materials. Some of the profits go to victims of gun violence.
It will be one year in August since Spoonmore started her bracelet making company, Hope, and her goal is to give a big donation to families of victims.
"Even though this was such a tragic event, God has turned this into such a beautiful story, and I just can’t wait to see where Ralph goes with this, because it’s gonna be a great thing for him," she said.
So no matter who or what people are running for, runners said crossing that finish line makes it all worth while. For Nagbe, she can't wait to see what else her son will continue to do.
"I hope that’s not the only finish line I’ll be crossing, and I hope that for all the families here," Nagbe said. "We need a lot more finish lines in our future."
