OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — FOX 4’s Karli Ritter honored the memory of her grandfather as she ran her twelfth half-marathon in 12 months on Sunday.
She ran alongside Officer Bob Schluben, who was running his 52nd marathon in 52 weeks.
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Ritter was running in honor of her grandfather who died of cancer this past July.
As a way to encourage him to go through 12 rounds of chemo, she promised to run 12 half-marathon races. She had face-timed with him after every race, until he passed away.
On Sunday, Ritter’s sister, mom and grandmother came from out-of-town to see her make good on her promise.
“He finished it and fought as hard as he could and that is all I asked of him. So now it’s my turn to finish, that’s it. Today is the day,” said Ritter.
“It’s extremely emotional for me. It’s a great tribute to dad. It’s a hard 12 months,” said Ritter’s mother about the races.
“I’m going to cry of course. I’m so proud of her and all her accomplishments. It’s so emotional and hard,” said Ritter’s grandmother.
Despite the freezing cold weather, Ritter finished Sunday’s half- marathon with her best time for that race. Fox 4’s Abby Eden completed the race Sunday as well.
