Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Hormel Foods Military Veterans Engagement Team (HMVET), one of the company’s many employee resource groups, is partnering with the Travis Manion Foundation to host the 17th annual running of the 9/11 Heroes Run 5K, which will be taking place in Austin for the first time. The 3.1-mile race begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the SPAM Museum (101 3rd Ave. NE), and all are welcomed to participate.

“We’re excited to be hosting and bringing this event to Austin for the first time ever,” said Christopher Lea, production manager at the Austin Plant of Hormel Foods and a military veteran. “Holding this event in honor of Sept. 11th provides us with the opportunity as a community to gather, reflect and remember.”

In addition to the race, there will be food trucks offering breakfast items before and after the race, as well as guest speakers and festivities for the entire family. A portion of the proceeds from the 9/11 Heroes Run benefit the Travis Manion Foundation. 

To register for the event online, participants can go to: travismanion.org/events/911-heroes-run/2023-austin-mn and use the code HORMEL15 to save $5 on their registration fee. If registered by Sept. 1, all runners and walkers will receive a T-shirt and gift bag.

For those who want to be involved with the event but don’t want to participate, volunteers of all ages are needed to hand out event materials and assist with general event activities. To volunteer, please visit: travismanion.org/events/911-heroes-run/2023-austin-mn.

The 9/11 Heroes Run 5K series was inspired by Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who was killed in Iraq in April 2007 as he protected his battalion. Before his final deployment, Manion visited New York City Fire Department Rescue Company, a group known for losing almost all its men on 9/11. The 9/11 Heroes Run honors his promise to never forget the heroes of that day.

For the latest on the event, follow along on Facebook at 9/11 Heroes Run 5K – Austin, Minn.