Run for the Angels is Sunday
Families take off from the starting line of the 2019 Run for the Angels in McEuen Park. This year's event is Sunday and will include a remembrance and luminary ceremony and other family activities, with COVID safety measures in place.
Courtesy photo
A balloon with a message of love is shown here during last year's Run for the Angels, an event to provide support and community for families who have lost pregnancies, babies or children. The 2020 event is Sunday starting at noon in McEuen Park.
COEUR d’ALENE — Sunday will bring with it some joy, some sadness and a lot of love.
The ninth annual Run for the Angels will be from noon to 4 p.m. at McEuen Park. This 5K memorial run and family fun day is hosted by the Northwest Infant Survival and SIDS Alliance to provide awareness and support for families who have experienced the excruciating loss of a pregnancy, an infant or a child.
"We know this event is really important to our families in the Northwest when it comes to remembering their children who have died," NISSA executive director Liz Montgomery said Tuesday.
Montgomery said her son, Mason, who died as an infant, would have celebrated his 18th birthday in November.
"We have a couple new families, their babies have died less than a year ago, and the Run for the Angels is something that can bring us all together to be part of the support, to support them during literally the hardest time of their lives," she said. "For them to be around us, there are those of us who can say, 'It’s going to be OK, there is hope and we’re here for you.'"
Formerly the Inland Northwest SIDS Foundation, NISSA formed in 1961 when eight bereaved parents came together to reach out to the families affected by what was known at the time as “crib death.” Montgomery, who found support with NISSA after Mason's death, formed the INW SIDS Foundation in 2012. In 2019, NISSA and INW SIDS Foundation merged to form an updated and stronger NISSA that serves the entire Northwest by offering emotional support services and free prevention education and training for parents, caregivers and medical professionals.
Sponsor booths will be on site during the event from noon to 2 p.m. An emotional support area with stations to create luminaries will also be available at that time.
To maintain physical distancing, a traditional start-line gathering will not take place. The course will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. for registered participants to enjoy at their leisure.
The remembrance ceremony will be from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at the Avista Pavilion. Attendees are asked to stay in their family "pods" during the ceremony, which will be streamed on Facebook.
Children’s names will be read and all children honored in previous years will automatically be added for this year. Email info@nwsids.org or call 206-548-9290 if you are joining for the first time and would like your child’s name read and a sign created for the run route.
"Anybody's welcome to the 2 p.m. ceremony," Montgomery said.
Participants in this year's Run for the Angels have a virtual option, as well. Event shirts will be mailed to remote runners, who are encouraged to go to www.facebook.com/NISSA2020 to share photos of their runs and jogs.
Registration is $25. Online registration closes Friday night but in-person registration will open in the park at noon Sunday.
The run will launch at McEuen and continue along the Centennial Trail. Strollers and bicycles welcome.
McEuen Park is at 420 E. Front Ave., Coeur d'Alene.
Info: www.nwsids.org
