Megan Hammerle Memorial 5K set for ninth year

May 3—Runners will flock to Lebanon on Saturday morning to take part in the ninth annual Megan Hammerle Memorial 5K.

The race is done in honor of Hammerle, a 2014 Lebanon High School graduate who tragically lost her life in 2015 due to a rare form in meningitis.

"Megan was a smart, talented, creative young woman," Boone County Mentoring Partnership (who now hosts the race) Executive Director Matt Wilson said. "She was a member of the cross country and track teams, Key Club and all the band programs at Lebanon. Megan was loved by all she had touched with her life and passions, and we are grateful to continue to honor her with the 5K."

Wilson said that shortly after her passing, her friends wanted to put something to honor her, and a 5K seemed like the perfect way given Hammerle's love of running.

Along with the race, the Hammerle family established a scholarship that went to a four-year cross country, track or band member at Lebanon.

That $4 thousand scholarship has now been fully endowed, and the past two years the proceeds of the race have gone to Boone County Mentoring Partnership, raising around 30 thousand dollars.

Megan's younger sister Sara had interned at the Partnership, and the family saw the organization as a worthy group to continue honoring Megan's legacy.

"The Hammerles see the value of really helping other people, and saw mentoring as such an important avenue to people in the community," Wilson said. "We want to use Megan's memory to help raise awareness and support, and hopefully getting more people to come out and help young people in the community."

The race annually draws a couple of hundred people and more than 200 have already signed up this year.

Some will do the event virtually because it falls on the same day as the Mini Marathon, but Wilson said the hope is that the event continues to grow in upcoming years and he and the Hammerles are appreciative of all the support the Lebanon community has shown to the event.

"It's amazing being to honor someone who had a young, but full life," Wilson said. "The Hammerle family has always been such a giving family, and I think it is important to have the community rally around their family and continue to honor her memory. I think it says something about the Lebanon community and how they rally around their people. Hopefully with next year being the 10th year, that we can share even more who Megan was and how many people she inspired."

The event will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Lebanon football field.

Registration is still ongoing and runners can register on the day of the race as well. It can be done online at www.getmeregistered.com/MeganHammerleMemorial5k.

For more information about sponsoring, volunteering or mentoring with the BCMP, contact Matt Wilson at matt@boonecounty mentoring.org.

Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.