Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Runners and spectators gathered for Wednesday’s 36th annual Bluegrass 10,000 award ceremony took pause to honor the memory of Sarah Hart and offer comfort to her family.

Hart, an athletic, pregnant mother of three, was killed during a morning run in Russell County last month.

In the ensuing weeks, Hart’s family has received support from runners across the state.

Wednesday, Eric Marr, race director of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Lexington Half-Marathon, introduced Hart’s family to the crowd in downtown Lexington. He encouraged the onlookers to express their love to the family, and the crowd responded with warm applause.

Details of the Run With All Your Hart four-mile run, Aug. 11 at Russell County High School, were relayed. Those unable to make the trip to Russell County are encouraged to donate online at www.runwithallyourhart.com. Proceeds will benefit the Sarah Roberts Hart Foundation, which will provide scholarships for area students pursuing careers in medicine and/or Sarah’s profession, pharmacy.

Wendell Roberts, Sarah’s father, spoke briefly on behalf of the family, which included Sarah’s husband Ryan and children Avery, Addison and Archer. Also on hand were Sarah’s sister Elizabeth and Sarah’s mother Cindy.

“Each time I’ve talked today, it’s gotten harder and harder,” he said. “Because I lost a beautiful daughter. They’ve lost a mother and a wife. So continue to keep us in your prayers as we face what is ahead of us without Sarah.”

Wendell Roberts said that each mile of the Run With All Your Hart would be dedicated to the children — the first mile for Avery, the second for Addison, the third for Archer and the fourth for the unborn Alexander.

“It’s encouraging, of course, knowing that they stuck around,” Roberts said after addressing the crowd. “It’s encouraging to know that there is a community that is supporting us. And, I might add, it’s a community of faith, and that’s all that’s gotten us through this whole mess.”

This entry was posted on July 4, 2012 at 11:38 am and is filed under Bluegrass 10000. Tagged: Sarah Hart, Wendell Roberts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.