Valley’s fire services are beneficiaries of Oso Strong run

July seemed a long way off in the dark days of March. Within a week of the Oso mudslide, Kelsey Garka was organizing a 5K walk and run to benefit volunteer fire departments that worked so steadfastly after the disaster.

“Anything we can do to give back will help,” Garka said March 30, when the Oso Strong 5K Walk/Run was in the earliest planning stages. Since then, Highway 530 has been reopened through the slide zone. On Tuesday, word came that Kristine “Kris” Regelbrugge, the last missing victim of the mudslide, had been found.

On Sunday, hundreds of people are to participate in the Oso Strong 5K Walk/Run near the Arlington Airport. Registration will begin at 7 a.m., with the first wave of runners starting at 9 a.m. The course includes portions of the Airport Trail and woodsy trails that connect to it.

Before any runner takes a step, there will be a poignant display of remembrance. At about 8:45 a.m., Garka said, a moment of silence will be observed. That will be followed by the release of 43 doves, one for each person whose life was lost in the March 22 mudslide.

Scheduled to fire the starting gun is U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, a 1st District Democrat who represents the area.

The event is a fund-raiser for the Oso, Darrington and Arlington Heights volunteer fire departments. Cost is $50 for the run or walk, or $10 for an obstacle course for kids ages 3-10.

Garka, an Arlington High School graduate now living in Everett, hopes the 5K will raise $30,000 to $40,000. By midweek, about 900 people had registered, she said, and the first two waves of run starts were sold out. Runners will start every five minutes until 9:15 a.m.

Organizers plan to meet with leaders of the fire agencies once the amount raised is known.

“We want to do whatever they want. There may be more needs in one department,” said Garka, who organized the Oso Strong 5K with her husband, Greg Garka, and several Arlington High School alumni.

People not running or walking will find plenty to do at the site along Highway 531, south of the Arlington Airport. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a DJ will play music, food trucks will serve lunch, and Bob’s Burgers &Brew will run a beer and wine garden. There will be face painting, the kids’ obstacle course, massages, a dunk tank and a raffle.

“Everyone is giving us 100 percent of the proceeds,” said Garka, who with her husband runs Anytime Fitness in Monroe and Snohomish. Andersen Construction is the major sponsor, and two dozen other companies are supporting the event.

Like so many with ties to the Stillaguamish Valley, Garka, 32, knows someone who lost loved ones to the mudslide. More than six years ago, she was a manager at the Polo Ralph Lauren store at Tulalip’s Seattle Premium Outlets. One store employee at the time was Natasha Huestis, the young woman whose 4-month-old daughter, Sanoah, and mother, Christina Jefferds, died in the slide.

Garka and Huestis had lost touch, but have been in contact since the tragedy. Huestis, she said, is registered for the 5K. Anyone who suffered a loss in the slide is welcome to participate without charge, she added.

Garka said 5K organizers have one problem — a good one. So many have registered that T-shirt orders haven’t kept up. Runners and walkers signing up race day will eventually get shirts, but maybe not at the event.

The Oso Strong 5K website calls it “An Event to Remember.” It’s a day to come together for a community that will never forget.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Oso Strong 5K

The Oso Strong 5K Walk/Run, a fund-raiser for the Oso, Darrington and Arlington Heights volunteer fire departments, will be held Sunday near the Arlington Airport. Registration starts at 7 a.m. The first wave of runners starts at 9 a.m., and walkers start about 9:30 a.m. There will be an obstacle course for kids, music, food and a beer garden. Start location is 17200 51st Ave. NE, Arlington. From I-5 N, take Exit 206 and go east 1.25 miles.

Registration is $50 to run or walk, or $10 for the kids’ obstacle course: www.osostrong5k.com/

Event packets may be picked up from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at KeyBank Smokey Point branch, 17311 Smokey Point Dr., or at the event Sunday.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.