For the first time, a Galaxy member will be the beneficiary of the Kirk Goodwin Run.
The recipient of the run this year is Raelynn Dawn Riddle, 11-month-old daughter of Galaxy member Ben Riddle.
Raelynn was born with a heart condition called Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (CCTGA) This rare heart defect is when the heart twists abnormally during fetal development causing the lower half of her heart to work in reverse. She has already had undergone five surgeries to correct.
Ben Riddle, a senior marketing major from Abilene, said insurance doesn’t cover all of Raelynn’s medical needs.
“A lot of her surgical stuff was mostly covered but all the other stuff that comes with her being a special needs child is pretty expensive,” Riddle said.
He also said it’s pretty special that Galaxy considered his daughter to be the recipient this year.
“In general, just to be a part of that and for them to consider my daughter worthy of such an honorable thing based on such a good cause that happened to a family so long ago is pretty special,” Riddle said.
The 36th annual Kirk Goodwin run, hosted by the men of Galaxy is scheduled for Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
Reed Denton, senior finance major from Belton, said it’s an honor to be in charge of the Kirk Goodwin Run.
“I remember last year once we finished the race, Michael Humphries said it’s just different when it’s your baby when it’s your race,” Denton said. “I didn’t know what it means and then I started doing this year and I have an idea of what he really does mean.”
The race was started in 1984 in honor of Galaxy member Kirk Goodwin, who fell asleep driving his car, crashed and was sent to the hospital in a coma. Goodwin later died at the hospital. The social club hosted the run every spring semester.
Some of the local sponsors of this year’s race are Documentation, Student Government Association (SGA), Quality Stone and Beltway Church.
The 5K begins at the corner of Campus Court and E North 16th and will go in a loop through Cedar Crest and will end there.
RunTIME will track racers with the ChronoTrack D-tag Timing System during the race. The company will also post the results and times on their website after the race.
