Miles for Matthew 5K
What: 5K run/walk to support juvenile diabetes research in honor of Matthew Jester
When: April 11; registration and packet pickup at 7:30 a.m.; 5K run/walk at 9 a.m.; kid’s fun run at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Morgan Elementary School, 3427 Chapel Road, Hamilton
Website: www.milesformatthew.com
Cost: Pre-registration is $25 for over 18; $20 for under 18; and $30 for all on day of event
The memory of a Ross Twp. boy is living on through an event to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research.
Matthew Jester was just eight when he died in his sleep in September of 2013. Three years earlier, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and had been managing the disease daily.
“After every time he ate, anything he ate, he had to get a shot for it,” said his sister Alexandra Jester, 17. “Every couple hours he had to check his blood sugar level. He couldn’t just go grab a snack.”
Just five months after Matthew died, tragedy struck the Jester family again.
Matthew’s father, Keith Jester, a Duke Energy lineman, died suddenly Feb. 27, 2014 after falling 20 feet when the utility pole he was climbing snapped.
Alexandra Jester, a junior at Ross High School, said she and her aunt, Jenna Rahrig, organized the Jester Jog in 2014 that raised $13,000 for JDRF, a research foundation for juvenile diabetes.
Over 26 million Americans have diabetes, with as many as three million having Type 1 diabetes, according to JDRF. Each year in the U.S., over 15,000 children and 15,000 adults are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
This year the second annual event is being changed to Miles for Matthew, Rahrig said because that’s what Keith would have wanted.
Miles for Matthew, a 5K run/walk with a kid’s fun run, will be held Saturday, April 11 at Morgan Elementary School on Chapel Road. Registration is open online at www.milesformatthew.com.
The race is organized in conjunction with the Ross athletic leadership team, and all proceeds support diabetes research.
“I’m excited to see everyone out supporting and knowing the money is going to a good cause,” Alexandra Jester said, along with siblings Mason, 9, who is Matthew’s twin, and Ryan, 7.
Rahrig, a teacher for Ross Local Schools, said her nephew was in second grade at Elda Elementary School when he died.
“Everything was under control with insulin and he watched what he ate but it takes a toll on the body,” Rahrig said. “He was a very active kid. He fell asleep and didn’t wake up.”
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