Nearly 500 runners and walkers gathered behind the Graham Fire Station on Sept. 12 for the city’s sixth annual 9/11 Commemorative 5K, honoring the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The event included a 5K run and walk, a noncompetitive one-mile course, the First Responders Team Cup and a new Community Team Cup. Attendees could also participate in a blood drive, visit first responder vehicles and take part in a range of other activities.

The Graham Fire Department, Graham Police Department, Graham Recreation and Parks and other community organizations participated in the event. Donations were also collected for Children of Fallen Heroes, an organization that supports children and families affected by the loss of first responders and military service members.

Graham Recreation and Parks Recreation Program Manager Michelle Shaffer said this year’s event was expected to be the largest in its six-year history, with almost 500 participants.

The city introduced a new 5k course this year to accommodate the larger crowd and improve safety. Shaffer said donations to Children of Fallen Heroes have also continued to increase alongside attendance.

“It’s great that each year we keep getting a bigger turnout and raising even more money for them,” Shaffer said.

For Shaffer, whose husband is a firefighter, the commemoration also carries a personal meaning. She grew up outside Washington, D.C., and remembers the attack on the Pentagon feeling close to home.

She said the race allows people to pause and remember the attacks while strengthening relationships within the Graham community.

“Whether you’re walking, running or just cheering everybody on, it’s a great way to take an hour out of your day and get together,” Shaffer said.

Graham firefighter Jason Moore has participated in the event since its inception in 2021. Moore said organizers originally wanted to create an event that would bring the community together, while honoring those who died and recognizing the lasting impact of the attacks.

For Moore, the people who show up each year are what make the event significant.

“Bigger than that is the community in general,” Moore said.

Moore initially proposed the idea of hosting a 5K to commemorate Sept. 11, according to Graham Fire Chief Tommy Cole.

Cole became fire chief in February 2001, seven months before the attacks. Watching the events unfold while already serving in the fire service left a lasting impact on him.

“I had never seen anything like that before, and I hope I never see anything like it again,” Cole said.

More than 400 people preregistered for this year’s race, a level of participation Cole said would have been difficult to imagine when the event began. As attendance continues to rise, he said he believes the event could eventually outgrow the City Hall campus.

The race is also a way for Cole to remember the sense of unity he saw across the country immediately following the attacks.

“If we could be the country we were the day after 9/11, we would be much better off as a country,” Cole said. “I wish we could be like that every day.”

Children of Fallen Heroes founder Ken Wasley attended the event to represent the organization and its work in the community. What began as a small program bringing children together for activities, such as art and indoor skydiving, has expanded to include equine activities, STEM education and other programs.

The organization has also partnered with Graham Recreation and Parks and the fire department on community projects. Children of Fallen Heroes is developing a national STEM campus on 82 acres in Vass, North Carolina.

For Wasley, commemorating Sept. 11 also means remembering how people responded to the attacks.

“It didn’t matter what race, color or how much money you had or didn’t have,” Wasley said. “We became one.”

Wasley said he hopes events such as Graham’s 5K will encourage younger generations to learn about Sept. 11 and understand the importance of serving their communities.

“We promise that we’re going to honor those lives by continuing this work,” Wasley said.

Six years after the first race, Moore said the continued turnout is what allows the tradition to return each year.

“I know it means a lot to so many different people,” Moore said. “We’re just grateful and thankful."