Race Honors Memory of Drury Grad’s Mother
Drury High graduate Olivia Carlson talks to runners before Saturday's race.
STAMFORD, Vt. — Among Olivia Carlson’s many memories of her mother are the times the family would participate in 5-kilometer charity road races.
"Especially in the summers, we did 5Ks almost every weekend. I remember we would decide maybe Saturday morning, 'Oh, there's a 5K at 10,' and we’d run in, join the scramble, register day of and just hop in," Carlson said on Saturday morning outside Stamford Elementary School, site of the inaugural Train for Trish 5K Charity Run/Walk.
Reminded how much organizers of such events love a last-minute crush of entrants, Carlson laughed.
"Oh, I know," she said. "I hate those people now, too."
Not really. Much closer to say that she loved and appreciated every one of the more than 300 runners and walkers who turned out to honor the memory of Trisha Leblanc Carlson and raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Olivia, who lost her mother to cancer last fall just before the start of basketball season, was a three-sport athlete at Drury High School. One of those sports was track and field, but she never took the weekend 5Ks all that seriously.
"I have countless T-shirts from charity runs and things like that," she said. "I save all my numbers. I probably have 70 race numbers. I think it’s really important. I never won a 5K, but I instills great confidence. And it’s just about getting out there."
For the record, Saturday’s race was won by Olivia’s cousin Jacob Leblanc, who covered the course in 17 minutes, 32 seconds, a 5:39 mile pace. The top woman in the field was 2016 Lenox High graduate and rising Williams College freshman Emily Tibbetts, who finished in 22:05.
A run for Trish was a natural memorial. In 2012, Olivia’s parents organized The Loop Stamford Family Day 5K Race.
"I think they had about 65 participants," Carlson said. "So I took that idea, and I wanted to do something bigger."
The energetic teen also was looking for something to use up what little free time she has between working as a certified nursing assistant, getting ready for her freshman year at Williams College and helping to coach at a Williams’ women's basketball youth camp, where she remembers honing her skills as a camper years ago.
"I first started putting this together in the middle of May," Carlson said. "It was prom season, graduation season was happening, my classes were slowing down. And I was like, 'What am I going to do this summer?’ I’m the type of person who can’t stand to be bored. I can’t stand to sit still.
"I wanted to do something that would not only honor my mother’s memory but also raise money for this important cause."
Before the runners and walkers hit the street on Saturday, Olivia Carlson reminded them what that cause was all about.
"Today, however, we are breaking free from the sidelines," she told the group. "Today, we take control to find a cure. Today we remember my mother and all of our loved ones. Today, we train for Trish."
In the four months since she decided to pull a race together for the third Saturday in August, Olivia Carlson has again been impressed by the outpouring of support in the Northern Berkshires.
"A lot of our fund-raising was made really easy by our supportive community," she said. "I didn’t have to really go solicit sponsorships or donations. A lot of people just came to me.
"It was the power of social media. I have a really great community and network around me. It kind of advertised itself."
Tags: benefit, benefit run, cancer, Drury High, Williams College,
