Annual Run Raises Money To Help 6-Year-Old

Mason Sneed plays on the jungle gym like any other 6-year-old. The kid with short blond hair and a bubbly personality climbs on the jungle gym the same as the other children outside enjoying a summer day.

Sneed is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He is has undergone extensive treatment already during his brief life.

“He’s amazing,” Sneed’s mother Jessica said of her son. “He loves living and loves having fun, just like any little boy does.”

Sneed and his mother are recipients of funds raised from the annual Born to Run 5K held on Sunday. The annual event raises money for the Bruce Eckrote Memorial Fund and helps support a local family of someone with cancer or another debilitating illness. Proceeds form the event also fund scholarships awarded to one student from both and high schools.

About 500 people participated in the run, the most in its three-year history. The event raised $23,000 its first two years.

The run was held at Packanack Elementary School near Packanack Lake. Eckrote walked around the lake all the time. He died in 2009, only five weeks after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

“This is what he would have wanted,” Eckrote’s son Dan said as runners and walkers crossed the finish line. “He just loved life so much. He would have really enjoyed this, everyone being outside having a fun time.”

Sneed and Jessica have had a difficult few years. He’s been in and out of the hospital and responding well to treatment. He starts school next week.

Jessica and her mother Regina have dedicated their lives to taking care of Sneed.

“He’s so precious and so special,” Regina said of her grandson. “He’s just amazing. He’s never complained.”

Dan Eckrote said he and his family had trouble finding a family to help this year but when they heard of Sneed and his situation, they knew they had to help.

“We’re just glad that we could help such a great family,” he said. “It’s what my dad would have wanted.”

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