CULLMAN – With the prerace event area filled with young racers currently involved in the local schools’ track teams, competitors in their early 20s who were teammates of Nicholas Fillinger and who shared his passion for the sport and folks of all ages running to honor the memory of the young man who died unexpectedly in September of 2013, the Third Annual Nicholas Fillinger Memorial Run was held Saturday morning on the picturesque trails at St. Bernard Prep School.
Julie Fillinger, Nicholas’ mom, explained, “We do this to honor Nicholas’ memory. He loved running and he loved running at St. Bernard in particular. He had a very good relationship with the kids here and he loved these trails.”
The 60-degree race start temperature felt just right to most people, but for runners, a temperature of 5-10 degrees lower is usually recognized as perfect for optimum running weather for setting personal records. However, today’s run wasn’t about chasing down a PR, but working as a team. Runners were encouraged to form teams of five or more to compete in the run as an extra way to memorialize Fillinger’s young life.
17-year-old Nicholas preferred cross country running because it required a group effort and the bonds between teammates were strong, as evidenced by the members of his former team who ran today as the Has Been Team. They joked that they hoped to place in the team award category but felt they most likely wouldn’t because “we’re too old now.” Mind you, the team members were in their early 20s.
Julie Fillinger continues to share her family’s reason for holding the race, “So, we come here to do this to tell his story as a way to share the gospel. That’s really what we’re hoping to do with this event is have the opportunity to share the story of Jesus Christ and what he did because our hope rests in knowing that we will have eternal life and we will see Nicholas again.
“The proceeds go to help kids at Grace Chapel Choir and also the Nicholas Fillinger Foundation’s primary beneficiary is Not Forgotten Orphanage in Peru and they rescue little boys out of slavery and put them in a home with house parents. We send them our support.”
Nicholas was a member of the Grace Chapel Choir before he passed away and his brother Drew is a current member of the youth service choir. The young singers will be visiting San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas on their summer tour this year.
Personal record setting wasn’t the top of the agenda today. However, with the times that were being posted, some PRs were definitely set with runners from Cullman, St. Bernard and the always swift Cold Springs competing. The Masters Division, for runners over the age of 40, also had runners traveling at awe-inspiring speeds.
For the official race times, visit the Nicholas Fillinger Memorial Run page on Facebook where the chip-timed results will be posted as soon as they are available.
To learn more about the Not Forgotten Orphanage in Peru, visit www.notforgotten.org/.
Nicholas Fillinger lived only a brief number of years here on Earth but his inspiration continues to have innumerable positive impacts in our local community and in communities far beyond our borders. Thank you to the Fillinger family for sharing your dear son and brother with us both then and now.
