On Sept. 19, Kristen Antoni and Lindsay and Matthew Walker will honor the memory of their mother, Cheryl Walker, with the 1st Annual WalkorRun 5K. Registration will begin at 7:30 with the race starting at 8 a.m. in front of the Storm King Engine Company firehouse in Cornwall-on-Hudson.
Walker, who passed away after losing her battle with lung cancer, was a nurse for over 30 years. She started her career in New York City and spent the last 20 years working at Vassar Hospital. In between, while raising three children, she needed to work school hours, so she taught nursing at Mount St. Mary College. When she died, the college reached out to the family about establishing a scholarship in her name.
The Cheryl Walker Nursing Scholarship was established in 2017 and was awarded to students majoring in nursing. In the early years of the scholarship, the family made donations and conducted small fund raisers. Antoni and her siblings never had time to organize a race, but decided to go for it this year.
So far, over 100 people have registered and $8,000 has been raised toward a larger scholarship. Antoni said the school is in charge of the scholarship and it will be up to the administration to determine the dollar amount awarded and to how many students.
“I am so happy that it’s going to be a thing,” said Antoni, owner of Main Street Cutters in Cornwall. “I’m happy to do the scholarship just knowing this is something she would be so pumped about. I just think it would be something she would be proud of.”
In her free time, Walker loved to run and hike. When her children were younger, she participated in organizing a number of races for fund raising purposes.
When Antoni began training for half marathons, her mother would join her on runs. It was around that time she was first diagnosed with cancer. Her symptoms started out with headaches and doctors determined the cancer had spread to her brain. When she was asked if she ever experienced shortness of breath, the response was “no, she ran 10 miles a couple days ago.”
“It was very surprising,” Antoni said. “She never smoked. To have lung cancer as a diagnosis was horrible.”
During the fund raiser, the organizers will be raffling gift baskets, tickets to Hudson Valley Renegades games, as well as gift certificates to local restaurants.
The race course will take runners on a tour of Cornwall-on-Hudson, starting on Hudson Street and heading toward Payson Road and Boulevard to Mountain Road. The race continues on Grandview and Wilson Road, back onto Hudson Street toward Prospect and Spruce Streets, Homeland and Academy Avenue, and then back on Hudson toward the finish line.
Medals will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers.
Those interested in participating may register, or make a donation, at msmc.edu/walkorrun or register on race day.
Antoni hopes the first year’s success leads to the race being an annual tradition.
“It will be a fun way for the community to come together to raise money for somebody who was very special.”
