UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WJAC) — The summer games for Special Olympics Pennsylvania will happen at Penn State in June. To raise money in the lead-up to the games, they held a run at Beaver Stadium on Sunday. Making this year's run special was a touching tribute to a Penn State football legend: the late football legend Franco Harris.
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"Did you see them take off? Doesn't it blow you away to see all the— and they're all ages, and you saw the little kids dancing," Sue Paterno told 6 News. "It's a family fun day and it's a family Penn State day and it's a Special Olympics day, so what more can we ask for?"
Sue Paterno, along with her late husband Joe, helped organize the Paterno Family Beaver Stadium run, starting years ago. This year's run saw over 2,800 walkers and runners participate in person and virtually.
"Well, they give us a lot," she remarked. "So, we give them as much as we can give back, 'cause they're very good to all of us."
The runner's high and the feeling of supporting a good cause kept these folks going till the finish line.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to do this well," Lena Wardeh, a third year at Penn State who's a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, told 6 News after finishing. "But I think the adrenaline got to me and I kind of just got in the zone, so [I'm] definitely breaking a sweat."
A true family affair, the event even saw some folks running while pushing their kids' strollers to the finish line. Spring and Mike Godissart brought their kids Lincoln, 3, and Elle, 1, to the finish line inside Beaver Stadium.
"We've never participated before," Mike told 6 News. "We thought it'd be a fun thing to take the kids to."
Importantly, the run also honored a dearly departed friend of the Nittany Lions.
"I'm here today to stand in for Franco. This was one of his favorite events, and when Sue Paterno asked him to do it, he was here from day one."
That's Dana Harris, the wife of Franco Harris, who made his name and his No. 32 jersey known to many households while playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Hall of Fame running back, especially remembered for the famous "Immaculate Reception" play, died in December at the age of 72.
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Dana Harris stood at the finish line on Sunday — this year, at the 32-yard line — where she gave high-fives and even hugs to those who passed by.
"This crowd was phenomenal today," she told 6 News. "You know, you ask a Penn Stater to give, and they give."
"Everyone lost a good friend," she said when talking about the loss of her husband. "You didn't know Franco, you experienced him. And if you didn't have that opportunity, you probably think we're all crazy. But he was just the best human being I've ever known, and I've known him since we went to school here. And, uh, there's no one who will disagree."
As the run neared its end, event organizer Carolyn Donaldson said they already raised $445,000, telling 6 News, "We've never raised this amount of money."
"And at the summer games, beyond the competition, we offer free health screenings for the athletes," she also said. "We offer— again, everything is at no cost to them, and that's thanks to the dollars we raise right here."
This year's summer games for Special Olympics Pennsylvania is set to run from June 8 to June 10. All of that will happen at Penn State's University Park campus. They're in need of volunteers for the summer games, so if you'd like to help or support them, you can click here to view their webpage.
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