By Joe Anuta
A Queens runner who completed the Boston Marathon decided to host a 5k race in Flushing Meadows Corona Park to raise money for families affected by the terrorist attacks last week.
Kevin Montalvo hails from Jackson Heights and was on a bus out of Boston after he completed the race when he began to see ambulances and crowds racing back toward the downtown area on the day of the attacks.
“I checked my phone and saw that there had been two explosions and thought this is just unreal,” he said.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed when two homemade bombs consisting of pressure cookers filled with an explosive substance and shrapnel exploded near the finish line at about 4 p.m. April 15. The suspects in the bombings were two brothers of Chechen descent who were born in the neighboring region of Dagestan, according to multiple reports, but had lived in the United States for about a decade.
In the aftermath of the bombing, Montalvo, who has been a competitive runner for two years, decided he wanted to do something to help.
He and a friend were already planning to host a 5K run May 11 around Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows to benefit members of the armed services. The event was initially supposed to be a fund-raiser as part of the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit that helps organize events to benefit wounded veterans.
But after Montalvo approached the co-organizer of the event, U.S. Marine Raul Heugas, they decided to open the run up to anyone who wants to provide aid to Boston as well.
“Raising money for the wounded vets is something that should receive no deflection of priority,” Montalvo said.
Currently, runners who want to sign up and pay the entrance fee, which all goes to the Wounded Warrior Project, can visit support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/jarheadforvetswarrior5k/.
But the Jackson Heights native hopes to boost the ranks of runners to more than 100 to provide support for the running community and show solidarity between cities.
Anyone who shows up on race day and pays cash will have that money donated to One Fund Boston, a nonprofit formed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help those most affected by the tragedy.
Montalvo is still hoping to get some equipment, like mile markers and numbered bibs from city running organizations like the New York Road Runners Club and New York City Runs, for the event, an official 5k sanctioned by United States of America Track and Field, the national organization governing track and field events.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
