Caitlyn Roman

Staff Writer

This past October was the 3rd annual Nate the Great race. This race is for a young boy, Nate Pikul, who died at 18 months on the night of September 24, 2007. The cause of death is unknown therefore putting his death in the SUDC (Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood) category.

Nate the Great is a race for toddler, Nate Pikul, who sadly died at the 18-months old.

October 8 was the day of the race being held at the Milford Pavilion with hundreds of people gathered to support the Pikuls. The Foran High School Key Club decided to volunteer at the race. Students from all four grades showed up to do anything they could to help at the race. Junior, Heather Shea, woke up early that Saturday morning so she could volunteer. Shea said, “The race was a lot of fun since we helped out with the kid’s race and were able to watch the runners of the actual race prepare.” The Key Club assisted with the children’s race. The volunteers helped the children to get through the four different obstacles needed to get the medal. These obstacles were to throw a tennis ball into a large bucket, race down a path in a potato sack, take time to carry a cheeto on a spoon, in your mouth, down a path and then to finally cross over a balance beam while running through cones all while balancing a frisbee on your head. As children finished the race, the delight and happiness on their faces were evident as they received their blue medal. Juliana Milewski said,”It was so nice to see everyone so happy to support such an important fundraiser.” The money raised from Nate the Great goes to the SUDC organization. When asked why this race was so important to know about, junior Brooke Carlson, said “This race was to raise money to find out what happened to Nate, grandchild to a teacher that some of us had at East Shore.” Nate’s grandmother is Mrs. Swanson, a retired teacher from East Shore Middle School. When this event is held next year, Foran Key Club is very likely to help out once again. To join Key Club, talk to Mrs. GaNun or go to the meeting held in the library every Tuesday, unless told otherwise, in the media center.

To learn more about sudden unexplained death in childhood and Nate the Great, go to https://sudc.org/naterace/about-sudc.