On a frigid Wednesday in January, 14-year-old Andrew Collinson felt a sense of pride as he gripped the flag tightly with his right hand. His breath was visible during each stride of the mile run he has completed often since 2022 in support of fallen first responders.
As he waved the official police flag and a line of patrol vehicles behind him illuminated the night sky, Collinson tried his best to hold back the emotions. On this evening near his Gainesville home, he was running in honor of Coweta County sheriff’s Deputy Eric Minix, who was fatally struck by an Alabama police officer’s vehicle while stepping out of his own after a chase Jan. 4.
“I don’t show (emotion) like on my face,” Collinson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I just tell myself I’m doing it for the first responder and that’s all the motivation I need.”
Credit: Running 4 Heroes Inc.
Collinson is one of five youth runners for the Florida-based nonprofit organization Running 4 Heroes Inc., which raises awareness and funds for responders who have died in the line of duty, including police officers, firefighters and K-9s. It was the 45th time the Gainesville Middle School student has put his sneakers to pavement.