Single raindrops slowly fell from the sky as runners and community members on Kenwood Avenue in Delmar listened to the national anthem. They stood silently holding flags and their hearts and remembering one of their own before embarking on a race in his honor.
The second Capt. Timothy J. Moshier Memorial 5K Run/Walk was held Saturday, April 25, at the Bethlehem Middle School. And although the race was held on a damp, chilly morning, there weren’t any tears, there wasn’t any grief, and there wasn’t any forgetting of why everyone was there.
Instead, the streets of Delmar were filled with smiling faces and an undeniable sense of pride and honor. Fellow soldiers and veterans, as well as children, wives and husbands, saluted and celebrated the ultimate sacrifice that Moshier had made for everyone of them who had gathered there in his name.
Moshier died while serving in Iraq two years ago when the Apache helicopter he was flying was shot down. He was a Bethlehem graduate and the father of a newborn daughter. His widow, Katie, helped organize the event and was on hand with their daughter Natalie, now nearly 3 years old.
It was great, Katie Moshier said after the races had finished. `I think overall it was a huge success and the community support was tremendous, and it was a good way to celebrate Tim’s life.`
Money raised in the race is earmarked for the Fisher House, a Bethlehem Central scholarship fund, and the Gold Star Family Support Center at Fort Hood.
The big winner of the race was Geoff Decker of Brooklyn, a 26-year-old runner and an original organizer of the event. Decker helped to create it last year in honor of his friend, and he finished the race at 15:38, which was a little less than 2 minutes before the second place winner.
`What the race is really about for me,` said Decker after posting his impressive time, `is that it’s a chance for people who grew up with Tim to come back together again. Hopefully I’ll be running in this every year.`
Claudell Washington, 26, of Albany came in second for the men with 17:17 on the clock, and Chris Dewalt, 29, of Queens took third with 17:44.
The first-place runner on the women’s side was Erin Boyle of Queens, Katie Moshier’s former college roommate. The 28-year-old crossed the finish line at 18:18.
`I told her on Friday, ‘I expect you to win this race tomorrow,’ and she said she would try and give her best performance,` Moshier joked. `And the next day, she won.`
The second-place female was 42-year-old Eileen Leavitt of Delmar, with 20:14, and third place went to Katie Hodge, 36, of Delmar, who came in at 20:29. Moshier herself crossed the finish line at 30:18.
American flags lined Kenwood Avenue throughout the event as veterans, current service members, police, and even the Patriot Guard Riders all paid homage to a fallen comrade.
However, they weren’t the only ones enjoying the spring run.
Local politicians, business owners, residents, runners, friends and family, all made an appearance at the event, some participating in the run and others just enjoying the scene as spectators.
The first-place team winner was Team Bethlehem, headed by Town Supervisor Jack Cunningham.
`I did well; I was happy with my time,` Cunningham said about his 23:47 finish. `I’m a runner. I usually go running every day at lunchtime; that’s why I try not schedule any appointments between 12:30 and 1:30.`
Cunningham tied Mark LaVigne’s time and the two were the first Team Bethlehem members to cross the finish line. Other team members from Town Hall included: Bethlehem Deputy Police Chief Tim Beebe; Councilman Mark Hennessey; Keith Silliman, planning board attorney; Mary Tremblay-Glass, human resource manager; and Robert Leslie, senior planner.
The second-place team was the Albany Police Department, whose members all crossed the line in a military-style marching formation between 29:41 and 29:45.
Albany County Michael Breslin, himself a Vietnam War veteran, also made an appearance and helped hand out awards.
`We all remember him and what he did for us,` Breslin said of Tim Moshier. `Katie, thank you for making all of this happen.`
Josh Merlis, of Albany Running Event Productions, who timed the runners, said it was an honor to be a part of the community event.
`I know Geoff Decker, who created it last year, and the family asked us to be involved. This was a race we definitely wanted to do,` Merlis said. `The race takes on a new dimension when it’s in honor of a fallen soldier.`
Merlis described the experience as `very rewarding,` and added that he himself was a runner but couldn’t participate in the event because he was timing it.
`If I’m not running in it,` he said, `then I’m timing it.`
Along with the main race were the children’s race and the Tot Trot, which Katie Moshier said was very successful and a great part of the event.
Her daughter ran in the Tot Trot, although she didn’t win ` she was too caught up in the fun of the moment to worry about the nuances of competition.
`She did exactly what I thought she’d do,` Katie said of Natalie. `She made it about halfway and saw all her friends and stopped and started smiling and giggling.`
Natalie ran in the 26.2-yard race with many of her friends from the Corporate Woods Children’s Center, which is managed by Bright Horizons, Family Solutions, who sponsored the Tot Trot.
Even though an American hero has been laid to rest for more than two years, with 502 runners finishing the race and hundreds more watching, Bethlehem residents made it clear that the memory of Capt. Timothy Moshier will live on.“