Hundreds turned out for the 2024 Tunnel to Towers Vero Beach 5K Run & Walk at Riverside Park, which served once again as a day of remembrance and hope in the face of tragedy.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which honors and supports first responders, military members and their families.

More than 370 runners crossed the finish line, urged on by the encouragement of their families and friends, to honor the thousands who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center complex in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

The event was organized by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, founded by the family and friends of Stephen Siller, an FDNY firefighter with Brooklyn’s Squad 1. Having just finished his shift, Siller was on his way out to play golf when he learned of the attacks and headed into the city to help.

Unable to drive through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Siller donned his full 60 pounds of gear and ran the two and a half miles to the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. Once there, he worked alongside members of the FDNY, New York and transit police, EMTs and paramedics from local hospitals, before losing his life along with many others.

The Siller family picked up the torch to honor that legacy of selflessness by organizing the NYC run in 2002. Today, the foundation continues to support the families of those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and while in military service. It also provides funding toward mortgages for injured first responders and military families and builds accessible homes for severely injured service members.

Dan Richey and Gina Kempf founded the local event 12 years ago, each having run the event in New York City, to keep the memory alive and raise funds for the foundation.

As in New York, many of the local firefighters, emergency responders and law enforcement personnel ran the race wearing their full gear. One group of local firefighters carried a firehose on which had been written the names of the 2,977 people who lost their lives that tragic day.

Flags representing all who died waved in front of Indian River County Fire Station 2, and images of the 343 fallen firefighters plus New York Police Department and Port Authority officers and one K-9 were placed along the runners’ route as a poignant reminder of their heroism.

“I’d like to thank all of you for coming out on this day to support the organization and to remember the almost 3,000 people who lost their lives on that day in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New York City,” said David Johnson, Indian River County Emergency Services director, during the opening ceremony.

“It was a horrible day 23 years ago on the 11th, but we do remember them, and we do use it as a force for good and going forward,” Johnson added.

Johnson said that 95 percent of the funds raised through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation goes directly into its programs. It has paid off more than 1,000 mortgages, with an additional 200 scheduled to be cleared by the end of this year, and housing and shelter is provided to 3,500 homeless veterans annually.

Families are assisted through their Smart Home Program, Fallen First Responder Home Program, Gold Star Family Home Program, Homeless Veteran Program, Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute, and Footsteps to the Future Endowment.

Zachary Speno of Vero Beach was the overall winner with a time of 18:20, with Brittany Corr of Vero Beach taking first place in the women’s division with a time of 22:42.

For more information, visit T2T.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis