Benwood Fire Captain runs 8 miles geared up for a special cause

One fully-geared up firefighter is running 8 miles for a cause that could be life-changing to kids with cancer.

It would have been the 23rd annual Debbie Green Memorial 5k/Walk for Leukemia. But this year one man is running… all by himself.

Garson Taylor is the Captain of the Benwood Fire Department. He would have ran the 5k for the 6th time if it didn’t get canceled due to the epidemic.

The annual 5k then didn’t get to raise around $15,000 to $20,000 for kids with cancer like it usually does every year.

Still Taylor managed to raise $3,200 from his own run. He ran Saturday morning from the center of Benwood towards Marshall Street until he got to Moundsville… all for the kids.

“At first I just did it just to do it, and then I got to meet the families of these kids that are sick, and seeing their smiles. They don’t even know me. I don’t know them, so it’s a really great thing.”

The Debbie Green Memorial 5k/Walk for Leukemia started 23 years ago.

It all dates back to 1972… the year 6-year-old Debbie Green died from Leukemia. Over 40 kids with cancer have been helped since.

If you’d like to donate to the cause, you could stop by Happy Tails Pet Salon.

Taylor says he’s hoping to reach between $4,500 and 5,000 dollars for kids with cancer.

posted Sunday August 2nd