There will be plenty of runners from Kentucky among the 30,000 athletes expected to cross the starting line (and hopefully finish line) at the 50th running of the New York City Marathon on Nov. 7.
Among the masses will be Pikesville, Kentucky, resident Jason Booher, who has been selected as a member of "Team 50," a unique group of 50 participants that represent some of the most inspiring stories of runners taking part in the historic running of the New York City Marathon. They include front-line workers, first responders, COVID-19 survivors, longtime volunteers, passionate supporters of causes and charities, and historic participants from the last 50 years of the New York City Marathon.
When the starting gun goes off Sunday morning at 8 a.m., Booher be will be wearing a bright yellow shirt with 27 names listed alphabetically in black letters down the back. It's a special shirt Booher wore in the London Marathon earlier this year and at the Berlin Marathon in 2019.
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The 46-year-old Mercer County school superintendent is a survivor of the nation’s deadliest drinking and driving crash — the 1988 Carrollton bus crash that claimed the lives of 27 children and adults. Booher is dedicating each mile of his 26.2-mile race to one of the victims, with the final 0.2 miles dedicated to his best friend, who was sitting in the seat next to himduring the accident.
"It's why I get into these races, to spread the message of the consequences of drinking and driving," Booher told The Courier Journal. "The message is simple, if you are going to drink, then please don't drive."
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On May 14, 1988, Booher was 13-year-old and shared a seat with his best friend Chad Witt on a school bus returning to Radcliff, Kentucky from a day at Kings Island in Cincinnati. The bus, which was filled with children and adults, was hit head-on by a drunk driver going the wrong direction on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky.
Although Booher survived, his best friend and 26 others died in the fiery crash.
"We all know that being a teenager is a fragile age and 33 years ago, I couldn't imagine anything positive would come out of burying my best friend and the multiple funerals for the 26 others in Radcliff that happened after the crash," Booher said. "But I made a pact that for the rest of my life, I would keep what happened that night at the forefront of my mind and I would continue to spread the word about the consequences of drinking and driving so that something like this doesn't happen again."
Booher frequently speaks on the topic at schools throughout Kentucky. He's proud of improved bus safety features that came about after the crash that include the use of less-flammable diesel fuel, cages around gas tanks, flame retardent seats, and more exits. He is also pleased there are now stiffer drinking and driving laws.
The married father of two is not sure when he put together the idea of running the distance of the 26.2-mile marathon and honoring the 27 victims of the Carrollton Bus Crash but he plans to continue his moving memorial at all six of the world's top marathons — Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
On Sunday, Booher will pass by more than one million spectators and 10,000 volunteers who will line the city’s streets of New York City’s five boroughs — Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Millions more will watch the globally televised broadcast.
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As he approaches the massive crowds, they'll read "Survivor of our nation's worst DUI crash" on the front of his yellow singlet. A split second later, the names of those who didn't survive will pass by cascading down Booher's back.
There is meaning in every mile for this Kentucky runner, who silently repeats the name of each victim as he covers the course.
At the 26-mile marker, runners are exhausted but Booher has found strength in the final two-tenths of a mile to the finish line. It is at this point he turns his thoughts to the memory of his best childhood friend, who is the final name on the list.
Booher does his best to sprint the final two-tenths of a mile in honor of Witt.
"I do a lot of praying and hoping that the story of what happened on May 14, 1988, is never forgotten," he said. "When I run, I am trying to spread the message worldwide. I am going to go to my grave trying to make sure this story never gets dropped."
Booher and other members of the "Team 50" runners will share their journeys and personal stories nationally on the ESPN2 race-day broadcast, as well as on social media.
Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville.
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