Contributed photograph
SIGNING THE CHECKS — Kirk Ward signs the checks to the “Curesearch” and the “Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation from funds raised through the Miracle Mile road race/walk.
McKenna and Maggie’s race raises $5,000 through support
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
Even though the Miracle Mile road race was held July 3 — in the bustle of Midnight Madness in Houlton — Kirk and Amy Ward were overjoyed with the turnout for the first-ever event.
“We are just elated,” said Kirk. “We count our blessings every day and we were so happy with the turnout. We are encouraged to move forward with this and make it bigger and better.”
The Ward family, along with event organizer Kara Wright, race director Chris Rines and race treasurer Rita Gardiner hosted the “Miracle Mile: Makenna and Maggie’s Race for Research.” The race raised well over $5,000, which will go to two worthwhile organizations working to find cures for childrens’ cancers — “Curesearch” and the “Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation.
The official number has not yet been determined, but Ward estimates at least 250 people participated, with almost a split in supporters from Aroostook County, state and out-of-state contributors.
“I am sure we had more from The County,” explained Ward, “but, we had several people coming from Bangor/Brewer area. A surprise to me was the girls’ (McKenna/Maggie) doctor was here. It was a nice surprise.”
“We also had people visiting with family from different states,” he added. “But, more than most, The County really represented this whole event, which is great. Those are who we really wanted to grab the attention of.”
The field of walkers and runners put their full support behind the young girls.
“We were not expecting that many,” he said. “We were expecting high-end maybe, 100 to 150 people, then when we started running out of numbers — Ward’s co-worker Rines had ordered 200 number bibs — those helping had to start making homemade ones.
“So, people were kind of running around with pieces of reamed paper on their T-shirt,” Ward laughed. “Hey, it was great. The more the merrier.”
The race began at the intersection of Cary and Military streets and continued down Main Street, ending at the Temple Theatre. The one-mile “downhill” race was designed so anyone could participate from individuals to families.
The overall winner was Spencer McElwain (4:13) of Caribou, followed by PJ Gorneault (4:14) of Caribou, Curtis Wheeler of Presque Isle (4:21). Chris Rines (4:41) of Houlton, and Ty Thurlow (4:51) of Lee rounded out the top five.
“The times were great and seemed fast,” said Rines. “We had a huge response to the race from both walkers and runners and we couldn’t have been happier. We did run into some trouble when we started running out of bibs and pins. Our finish line and registration crew did great with the little resources they had. The results unfortunately may not be entirely accurate due to the huge crowd that came out, we hope in the future we will be able to support a large number like this and provide the best possible race experience in the County. We couldn’t have done it with out our wonderful volunteers, they deserve a lot of credit.”
Ward noted, “Obviously, there are some tune-ups that need to take place, but for the first year, I think everything went pretty well. We are getting a lot of positive feedback from those who are excited about participating in next year’s event.”
The plan is to make this Miracle Mile an annual event in the Shiretown.
After the “Miracle Mile” race, the Wards had to go back to Boston with their daughter, McKenna. In one of her latest scans a lesion was detected on her hip.
“The doctors suspect disease,” said Ward. “As we speak, we are in treatment right now.”
McKenna is taking 10 pills a day for 14 days at a time. That will run for at least the next six months and then she will receive a week or so of radiation.
“She will have to have radiation done in Brewer at the Lafayette Center,” said Ward, “but for the most part, we can continue being close to home for the summer.”
“We just want the community to know how much we are thankful for them and proud of them, too, to come out and support such an event as this,” said Ward. “There are a lot of different foundations and fundraisers that go on. They didn’t necessarily have to choose “Miracle Mile,” but they did and we thank them.”
