Zechariah Cartledge has always had a deep respect for First Responders, and developed a passion for running when he was only 5 years old. At the age of 7, Zechariah began competing in various 5k events around the community. In October of 2017, Zechariah ran in the Tunnel to Towers 5k in Orlando, FL. This run proved to be a turning point for Zechariah and the spark that created Running 4 Heroes.

During this run, Zechariah had the opportunity to run with dozens of First Responders, many of whom ran the race in their full gear. From that point forward, Zechariah knew he wanted to keep running with and for our First Responders. Originally, his mission set out to honor a fallen 9/11 Police Officer named Walwyn Stuart, while raising money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Zechariah spent all of 2018 honoring this fallen hero in his various races and ended up raising over $11,000 for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

It was at the end of 2018 when he heard about how many Police Officers lost their lives in the line of duty that year. Knowing that the number of miles he ran in 2018 was nearly the same amount of miles as Officers lost in 2018, Zechariah set out on a mission to run 1-mile in 2019 for every Officer lost in the line of duty from the prior year and to raise $100 for each Officer for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
However, just 2-weeks into 2019, Zechariah heard how more Officers had already lost their lives in the lines of duty in the current year, so he decided to add an additional mile for every Officer lost in 2019, but for them, he would run those miles carrying the Blue Line Flag in their honor.

That decision to honor our fallen heroes has led to the creation of the Running 4 Heroes 501(c)(3), which sets out to honor every First Responder lost in the line of duty as well as support those injured First Responders whose injuries were duty-related.

This is Giuliana, she is 12yo and in the 7th grade. Giuliana first heard about Running 4 Heroes in April of 2021 when her and her family saw a post on FB shared to their local community page. She wanted to run with Zechariah to support him and his cause. Giuliana has been running ever since and was asked to be a lead runner after seeing her commitment. 

She is a Florida native with a younger brother who she adores. Giuliana is a smart, kind and funny young girl who enjoys running for a great cause, she also enjoys playing basketball. In her spare time she likes creating crafts and building anything from Legos, robots and cars. In school she  loves her advanced Math and Science classes with hopes to becoming and Engineer one day!

Morgan is a 13 year old 8th  grade student from Brick Township, NJ. She is active in many sports including flag football, track, basketball, and cross country. Morgan is also a member of the National Jr Honor Society. From the time she was 6 years old she has wanted to be a police officer and work in K9 law enforcement.  Every year on her birthday she does fundraisers that are used towards the purchase of safety equipment for K9s. In the past 7 years she has raised over $15000.Morgan started with R4H in September 2022. She plans to go to a Law Enforcement High School next year and after High school her plan is to join the military and pursue a career in law enforcement.

Raiden is 13yrs old and will be in the 8th grade starting the Fall of 2024.

Raiden has been involved in supporting First Responders and
Military Personnel since he was 4 years old by handing out “Thank You/You’re My
Hero” cards to them.   His cards has been received as far as the
NYPD.

Raiden can be seen at Events running with his Thin Blue Line
Flag.  So when an HPD Officer suggested he try out for Running 4 Heroes
because they were looking for Youth Runners he did not want to pass up the
opportunity. 

Throughout the year Raiden also has his own Toy Drive that he
starts immediately the day after Christmas.   The toys he collects he
will donate to various organizations like The Angel Tree and other smaller
Shelters that are overlooked by bigger Toy drives.   

This is a link to a story that our local News did on him
regarding his Toy Drive J

https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-boy-12-using-own-money-to-buy-christmas-gifts-for-underprivileged-kids/article_88ad4dbe-79f5-11ed-928f-afb7caeb2d4e.html