As Dan Montgomery will tell you, “Runners run.” It’s mantra he shares with friend and running buddy Mike Song. In the past four months, it’s helped strike a bit of a balance, especially in a world suddenly without Mike’s son, Ethan.

It’s also been a driving force as Mike and his wife, Kristin, together with Dan and their friends Scott Markovich and Melanie DiNicola, steer the first annual #SongStrong5K and Kids Fun Run, with its “Keep Kids Safe” theme. Set for Saturday, June 9 at Guilford fairgrounds, all event proceeds benefit causes and programs developed and supported by the Ethan Miller Song Foundation, a permanent, donor-advised legacy fund of the Guilford Foundation.

The USA Track & Field certified 5K will be followed by post-race food, drinks, exhibits, a DJ, and more. All information needed to sign up, make a donation or volunteer can be found at www.songstrong.org. Advance 5K registration ($25 through Tuesday, June 5) and Kids Run registration ($5 through race day) is recommended; but day-of registration ($30 for 5K, opens at 8:30 a.m.) is also welcome.

As of last week, more than 200 participants had already registered, and many more are expected, says Dan.

“A lot of people have told me they’ll sign up that morning, so we expect several hundred to be there that morning to sign up for race day,” says Dan, adding, “If you race, you get a shirt; if you volunteer, you get a shirt. We’re taking a birds’ eye view [drone] photo, and I would love to see 500 people in race shirts.”

The Kids Race starts at 9:45 a.m., followed by the 5K at 10 a.m.

In addition to contributing through race entry fees, participants can elect to become a personal fundraiser.

“You can form a team or make a donation,” says Dan. “One woman signed up, paid the $25 and added $50. That’s a microcosm of the things you see in Guilford—people want to be involved and have an impact in their way. Maybe that’s giving a little extra money, or volunteering to be here at 7:30 in the morning or at 11:30 to help clean up, or handing out bagels and food and water to the finishers.”

As race director and event co-chair with Markovich, Dan checks for registration updates frequently and shares many inspiring notes with the steering committee.

“Every day, I check website, and I see 10 or 15 more families have registered,” says Dan. “We have people that are over 70 years old running this race. We have kids as young as three years old that are going to run in the fun run. You see donations come in, you see teams come in. Scott Markovich coaches travel basketball each year [which] raised several thousand dollars, in addition to all the other stuff he’s done.”

Markovich, who is also event’s corporate sponsorship chair, brought in his company, Aetna Inc., as title sponsor, notes Dan. In addition to financial support, Aetna is bringing at least 50 volunteers to assist on race day. #SongStrong5K is also receiving significant sponsorship support from media sponsor Fox61.

Dan met the Song family shortly after moving to Guilford in 2009, with Dan, his wife and their two children being completely new to the area.

“We didn’t know anyone, but some of the first people we met were our neighbors [including] Mike and Kristin and their family. Right away, we felt we were in a great place and we’d met great people,” says Dan.

An avid runner for more than two decades (he’ll run his 17th New York City marathon in the fall), Dan took to Guilford’s streets to train as soon as he moved in.

“As time went by, they would see that I’m a runner,” says Dan of his new neighbors. “Mike said, ‘Hey, I’m a runner, too.’ We started running together and developed a friendship and our families became friends.”

Through his two children, now 13 and 11, Dan met Markovich while coaching together in kids’ leagues. Like DiNicola, who has been instrumental in assisting with fundraising for the Ethan Miller Foundation, Markovich is yet another Song family friend doing all they can to support the Songs in the days since Ethan lost his life by gunshot on Jan. 31, at the age of 15.

Through the Ethan Miller Song Foundation, the family hopes to honor Ethan’s life by encouraging others to pay forward his ability to share simple acts of kindness and support the many causes that were his passion, while also working to help keep kids safe. The foundation’s efforts include developing educational materials and supporting causes teaching children and teens about responsible weapon use, and focuses on common-sense safety ideas, including safe gun storage (based on global guidelines) and encouraging every community to adopt the Sandy Hook “Say Something” anonymous app. The foundation also supports causes that teach kids and teens about the dangers of opioid abuse, as well as the dangers of texting, drinking, or distracted driving.

Mapping a Course Forward

Being a runner, Dan was inspired to help fuel outreach efforts of the Ethan Miller Song Foundation by establishing an annual 5K event.

“After the tragedy occurred, I ran with Mike a couple of days later,” says Dan. “One of the concerns of the family, among a lot of things in a very dark time, was, ‘We don’t want anyone to forget our son—what are the things that we can do to make sure the issues and things that Ethan cared about can be honored, to the best of our ability?’”

“My response was, ‘Mike, I’ve always been inside the lines of running, I’ve never been outside the lines, but I’m sure we can do a 5K,’” says Dan. “In this town, the one word I would say about people here is they are selfless. Certainly, Mike and Kristin and their kids have always been that way, and Ethan especially, with all the causes he was involved with.”

Dan and Mike mapped out the 5K course together.

“The first time we ran it was in the pouring rain,” says Dan. “I was using my watch and my GPS to make sure it was going well. Mike and I have done the SongStrong course 15 times now, maybe more.”

Heading out from Guilford Fair Grounds, it winds along Stone House Lane and turns toward the Guilford Marina, where runners will reach the water before curling back to follow Whitfield Street into the center of town. A right turn on Boston Street and a quick hook onto Lover’s Lane will take them back to the fairgrounds and the finish line, where a Guilford Fire Department ladder truck will have the event banner on display.

“We’re hanging the SongStrong banner across the finish line, so when you come across, there’s going to be that sense that you’re part of something meaningful,” says Dan. “Whether you’re walking or running, we just want you to come out there to be a part of the event at the finish line, to listen to Mike Song speak to the crowd, and to be a part of everything we have planned for that day.”

An early mission Dan planned and completed was to have the #SongStrong5K USA Track & Field certified. His next mission is to make this annual race into the state’s premiere 5K event.

“My humble goal is to turn this 5K race into the best 5K race in Connecticut. I’d like to get there at some point,” says Dan. “That will happen over time here, with the town that we have, with the logistics that we have, with the fairgrounds and the scenery that you see. There’s no reason why this can’t be one of the best 5Ks in the state. So we’re going to work toward that, every year.”

Looking back over what’s already been accomplished in such a short time, Dan says the #SongStrong5K steering committee is overwhelmed by the support shown by individuals and organizations stepping up to help, especially with a brand-new event organized by volunteers and race organization newbies.

“I’ve always admired the logistics it takes to put on a marathon. Taking this race on, I knew I didn’t know everything, but I knew enough to ask those things, so that’s what I did,” Dan says, ticking off support from organizations ranging from Guilford Police Department (public safety/course assistance) and Guilford Fire Department (public safety/apparatus support) to the Madison Jaycees (prior race experience) and USA Track & Field. He can add to that list support from individuals like former Guilford police veteran Steve Spurrell (covering parking/crowd management) and many more.

“It’s been great, and so rewarding, to meet such great people in this town,” says Dan, adding the support spreads to surrounding towns, too, especially through area high schools.

“We’ve reached out not only to Guilford High School but to Daniel Hand [HS] and Branford High School as well, so in their communications, they’re also broadcasting the SongStrong 5K,” says Dan.

Ethan’s brother, Evan, is wrapping up his senior year with the GHS baseball team and that team is just one of many planning to come out to #SongStrong5K, adds Dan.

“A lot of Evan’s friends have been his support system from the beginning, and the whole baseball team will be at the race in support,” says Dan. “Within days of the tragedy, other teams here and in other towns were wearing Song Strong shirts, like the Branford wrestling team. They’re all doing the right thing for the Song family.”

In addition to many GHS teams and local sports teams planning to participate, Dan recently learned the Yale University football team, with Bulldog mascot Handsome Dan in tow, is committed to attend #SongStrong5K, as will the Branford High School football team, which plans to help rally runners along the race course.

“Everyone’s been rallying around the Song family, from the sponsors to the people volunteering to their neighbors to people they don’t even know. Just the phone calls and emails of support, it’s all been very humbling,” says Dan. “It makes you feel like, for me, moving here in ’09, did I choose the right place to live? There’s no question. Coming out of New York City and moving to a smaller location like Guilford, you don’t know what might happen in a town like this after a tragedy like that. Everybody surrounded the Song family with support and with love.”

He adds, “And now, this 5K is an opportunity to make sure no one forgets Ethan, which is why we’d like to do this not only this year, but every year. That’s one of the areas the Songs are very focused on—we never want to forget, and we never want to stop teaching and learning from an event like this.”