CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Run, White & Blue 5k/10k

🇺🇸⭐️THE NUMBERS ARE IN⭐️🇺🇸

Because of all of ⭐️YOU⭐️, we were able to raise another 🤩$7,360🤩 at the 3rd annual CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Run, White, & Blue 5k, 10k, and 2 Mile Ruck! Bringing total funds raised in just THREE races to $29,526!! 🤩🙏🏼😭🇺🇸 THANK YOU!!!!

These funds raised go directly towards the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Student Award at the University of Kentucky. This student award is awarded to a student or students in the University of Kentucky Kinesiology & Health Promotion program with a military affiliation, who embody Alan’s outstanding character. In 2024, a 15-year Veteran was awarded the student award. He has a wife and children, and was also working in maintenance at the university. In 2025, we raised enough to be able to award two students: a leader on the women’s volleyball team at UK, and a senior Air Force ROTC student, who will commission as a pilot in the USAF! I cannot wait to report who will receive the award this year! Thank you ALL for helping make a difference in these students’ lives as they work toward their futures, and for helping to keep Alan’s legacy alive🙏🏼🇺🇸💙.

In Spring 2024, I opened the student award in Alan’s name with $5,000 I made from selling our boat. Shortly after, planning for the first Run, White, & Blue went underway to help continue to fund the student award. The race was put together in less than two months, and the turn out was so much more than I could have ever expected. It was so heartwarming 🥹🙏🏼💙. My goal was to raise enough money in five years to reach endowment level ($25,000). Because of all of our incredible sponsors, donors, participants, and volunteers, we did it by the end of the 2nd Annual Run, White, & Blue in 2025… in LESS THAN TWO YEARS 😭🙏🏼… and the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Student Award will be at UK indefinitely! 🙏🏼😭🫶🏼 THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 🙏🏼💙

The $7,360 raised this year will enable us to continue to add to the student award, and hopefully continue to award more and more students each and every year! With the $7,360 raised this year, the total amount raised for the CPT Alan Kurre Memorial Student Award is an outstanding $29,526! In just THREE races! 🥹😭🙏🏼💙🇺🇸

✨Contributions to the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Student Award can be made at any time throughout the year. If you would like to give to the student award outside of race time, you can send a check made out to the “University of Kentucky” with “CPT Alan K. Elliott Memorial Student Award” in the memo to:

University of Kentucky
ATTN: Nathan Rudder
251 Scott Street
133B Dickey Hall
Lexington, KY 40506-0017

Thank you again to our amazing donors, volunteers, and participants who have shown up year after year! Without all of you, this would not be possible 🙏🏼💙🇺🇸. I’d like to also take this moment to thank our sponsors again, who help make putting the race on possible:

⭐️GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS⭐️

McKibbin Group, Inc.
Peacemeow, made our awesome shirts

🔵BLUE LEVEL SPONSOR🔵

Valor Coins and Pins, made our incredible dog tag medals given to all race winners

⚪️WHITE LEVEL SPONSORS⚪️

SMO, made our mile marker signs, banner, stickers, and magnets
KCOMS
HOIST, provided their delicious electrolyte drink for all racers

🔴RED LEVEL SPONSORS🔴

Mary’s Market on Main, provided prizes for the largest team at the race
StuArt Design, made our logo
Ramsey’s Diner, contributed to the largest team prize
Kroger, provided water and bananas for all racers
GTCO
Rusty Burton- Edward Jones Financial Advisor

✨SPECIAL THANKS✨

Ruby Cline-Eaton at A Runners Mom & More Photography who has photographed our race year after year, and provides photos free to download. Check them out here 🤩 https://arunnersmomandmore.smugmug.com/7-25-26-Run-White-Blue-5K-10K-RUCK

Bob Baney and the whole RaceRise for helping race day go off without a hitch!

Nathan Rudder, Senior Philanthropy Officer at UK who not only helped set up and manage the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Student Award, but volunteers every year at the race!

UK College of Education Dean, Nick Pace for the support, and also volunteering at this year’s race!

Vineyard Cincinnati Church Canopy Tent Service Team for offering prayer, and providing coffee, water, and snacks for racers!

I pray you all have a wonderful and very blessed year! I hope to see you all again next year, until then, I will carry your kindness with me 💙🙏🏼🇺🇸🤟🏼.

A friend who works for USAA shared with me tonight that USAA put up a temporary monument in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and Alan is on it 🥹😭🙏🏼💙. I wanted to share, because it is SO special! Check it out here 👇🏼🥹🙏🏼💙🫶🏼

https://monument250.usaa360.com/tribute?first=ALAN&last=ELLIOTT&middle=&suffix=&code=MMJCGF

🇺🇸💙 So thankful for the support! Thank you so much for joining! Such an honor to have UK College of Education Dean Nick Pace at the race. Not only was he present, but he volunteered and helped run the water table with UK Senior Philanthropy Officer Nathan Rudder! 🙏🏼🇺🇸💙 Thank you SO much! Would love to see you all again next year! UK College of Education University of Kentucky University of Kentucky Kinesiology & Health Promotion

Over the weekend, UK College of Education Dean Nick Pace joined participants in the Run White & Blue 5K and 10K, alongside family and friends of Army Capt. Alan Kurre Elliott. The event was created by Elliott’s widow, Stephanie Elliott (pictured with her children), to honor the life and legacy of her husband, a UK College of Education alumnus who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while running near their home in July 2023. A student award named in Capt. Elliott’s honor supports students in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion who embody his outstanding character. University of Kentucky Kinesiology & Health Promotion

🙏🏼🥹😭💙🇺🇸

🇺🇸T-minus 12 hours🇺🇸

🏁The final countdown is ON! LET’S GOOOOO!!! 👏👏👏

🤩Here’s a sneak peek at our prizes this year🤩

⭐️Largest team at Coldstream Park in Lexington tomorrow, Saturday July 25, receives a gift basket full of race-branded gear including headbands, koozies, and Velcro patches. In addition, the winning team will receive prizes from a few sponsors: A $50 Ramsey’s Diners gift certificate to celebrate the win, and assorted items from Mary’s Market on Main, Mary’s Market on Main 😍. *To win, team members must all be registered on their represented team on the race website 👉🏼 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk

⭐️The overall top 3 males and females for our officially timed races (5k & 10k) will receive a plaque, race medal (dog tag), rucksack with a race-branded Velcro patch and subdued American Flag patch, as well as a race-branded headband and koozie 🤩

⭐️Top 3 males and females in each 10-year age group for our officially timed races (5k & 10k) will receive a race medal (dog tag) 🇺🇸

Haven’t registered yet? Grab your family and friends, join a team, and sign on up! It’s not too late! 🤩

See you there 🙏🏼🤩🤗

⭐️SPECIAL THANKS⭐️

We need to take a moment to shout out four amazing groups that are helping to make this race what it is 🙏🏼🇺🇸.

First, we will have Vineyard Cincinnati Church Church Canopy Serve Team join us tomorrow to offer prayer, and provide participants with water, coffee, and snacks. Earlier this summer, I ran a race in Ohio, and was approached by a VCC Canopy Serve Team Member. We got to talking, and I happily told her about Alan. She asked to pray for me, and offered to join us in Lexington for Run, White, & Blue this year. We are so touched and grateful for their presence🙏🏼! Larry Hyrne, Team Coach, had this to say about the team:

“The VCC Canopy Tent Serve Team serves our neighbors through prayers of blessing, encouragement, and love. We provide cold Gatorade, water, and snacks to the runners and our new friends. We stand with the Elliott family to honor the memory of Cpt. Alan Kurre Elliott, who gave his life for the cause of freedom.

We are guided by the hope found in Romans 8:35-39: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?... For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’”

Next, a huge shout out to Ruby Cline-Eaton⭐️, A Runners Mom & More Photography for being our incredibly talented and generous photographer every year! Because of her talent and generosity, we have amazing photos free to download after the race! Thank you, Ruby! We appreciate you SO much! 🙏🏼

Then we have RaceRise🤩. Without the help of RaceRise and their expertise, timing abilities, efficiency, and awesome team, race day would not go near as smoothly! We are grateful for Bob Baney and the whole RaceRise team!

Last but certainly not least, Lexington Army Recruiting. Last year, Lexington Army Recruiting Company was a generous sponsor, and we were so grateful for their presence. This year, they have again offered support! Thank you! 🇺🇸

There is still time to register! https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk

🎉RACE DAY IS TOMORROW, Y’ALL🎉

Folks are already arriving in the great city of Lexington to run the 10k, walk/run the 5k, take part in the *NEW* 2 mile ruck (rucksack encouraged but not required), and many are joining virtually! We are closing in on 300 participants from all over the globe, and have raised over $3,600 in donations so far for the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Student Award! Can we get to $4,000 by tomorrow?! 🙏🏼😍🇺🇸

Have you registered?! Shirts are going FAST! Sign up before they’re gone 🤩🇺🇸. https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk

⭐️All proceeds from the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Run, White, & Blue will go toward funding the CPT Alan Kurre Elliott Memorial Student Award at the University of Kentucky to help financially support UK students in Kinesiology who have a military affiliation, and embody Alan’s outstanding character 💙.

Our first year, 2024, the student award was awarded to Michael Casias, a student and veteran with 15 years of military service. He is a husband, father, and also works in maintenance at the University of Kentucky.

In 2025, we were able to award two students! Trinity Ward is a leader on the Women’s Volleyball Team at UK, and Anna Martin, an Air Force ROTC student at UK, will soon commission as an Air Force Officer, and begin her career as a pilot for the USAF 🇺🇸.

The goal is to continue to help as many students like Michael, Trinity, and Anna as possible, as they work towards their futures! The more funds we raise, the more we can help🙏🏼.

Anyone can make donations on the race website. Any amount helps! We are SO grateful! 🙏🏼

You can register and donate here 🤩 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk

Hope to see you there! 🇺🇸 Be sure to wear you’re patriotic gear! 😍🥰🤗

Click here for an article published by UK about the race and student award 🥹 https://education.uky.edu/news/run-white-blue-honors-uk-alums-life-supports-student-scholarships

⭐️Sponsor Highlight⭐️

Not only are they making our race shirts again this year, but peacemeow is also one of our generous Gold Sponsors for the second year!

Peacemeow is a t-shirt company specializing in direct-to-film printing and custom orders. Whether you have a sports team, school, business, or special event you need shirts for, peacemeow will help start-to-finish. Based out of Franklin, Ohio, they create shirts ready for pickup, or will ship! We love supporting small businesses, and are SO grateful to peacemeow for their sponsorship, support, and generosity 🙏🏼🇺🇸

Visit Peacemeow’s website https://www.peacemeow.com for current inventory, or contact their team via the website or Facebook for custom orders. Follow on Facebook for new and upcoming designs ready for purchase!

Check out this year’s race shirt 🤩. I’m loving the America 250! Last year, we sold out of shirts, and our shirts this year are going quick! Register before they sell out! Registration will be open until the morning of the race. https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk

⭐️3 DAYS⭐️ until race day, y’all!!! LET’S GOOOOO!!

Who remembers last year, and the INSANE heat we had?! 🙋🏽‍♀️🙈🥵 Well, the weather is lookin’ mighty fine for Saturday! 😍 65° at GO TIME!

Have you signed up yet?! Lots of racing options to get out and celebrate a life well lived, raise money for a good cause, and just have a great time! Sign up for either the:

⭐️2 mile ruck (ruck, walk, or run 2 miles untimed- rucksack encouraged but NOT required 🤗)
⭐️5k run/walk (timed, awards)
⭐️10k run (timed, awards)
⭐️Virtual race to complete from wherever you are!

Sign up here before shirts sell out!! 🏁 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/RunWhiteBlue5KRunWalk