5 running, walking, fun run, and other events in Downers Grove, Illinois

Before the all-state accolades, before the injuries, before middle school, high school, college, and all the difficulties that followed, Benjamin Lee Silver was a brother—to Aaron, three years older—and a son, to loving parents Paul and Jamie. Born in San Francisco, California on November 23, 1992, Ben was the kind of kid whose smile, nearly constant, was contagious. Energetic and creative, Ben jumped into any new endeavor with cheerful abandon, unafraid of embarrassing himself. If something was exciting, if there was the potential to improve himself, why not try it?

After moving to Downers Grove, Illinois in 1998, Ben dabbled in youth soccer before following in brother Aaron’s footsteps and joining the cross country and track teams at Herrick Middle School. A star from the outset, Ben was a class above his junior high competition. Despite being limited by injuries and minimal formal training, Ben shattered the school 1600 meter record with a 4:40.6, a time rarely approached by runners that age. In his freshman cross country season, he slotted in as Downers Grove North’s top runner, a mantle he’d hold for his four years in the program. In fact, he ran 15:19 the first time he ever raced three miles, outkicking a handful of returning all-state upperclassmen at the Leavey Invitational. A couple of weekends later, at the famed Peoria Notre Dame Invite, Ben became the first freshman to break 15:00 at Detweiler Park since Kevin Havel’s fifth place finish at the state meet in 2004. Unfortunately, his season was derailed by injury only days later.

Behind all of Ben’s accolades—3x All-State in cross country, 1x All-State in track and field, twice top 20 in the Footlocker Midwest Regional—was the untold story of how little he actually ran during his high school career. Never physically healthy for more than a couple of consecutive months, many of Ben’s finest performances came on unimaginably limited training. Both his junior and senior cross country state meet performances came on approximately three weeks of training. As captain, aware that his fast time was necessary for DGN’s qualification—he was determined to run no matter what, reclaim his top spot, and lead the team downstate. No one who saw him a month before the 2009 state meet, hobbled and unable to run even a block, could have imagined he’d lead the 3A race through two miles. Few would have believed a 10th place finish possible with only two hours a day on an elliptical trainer and less than 100 miles on his feet, still fewer would’ve guessed he’d make it through two miles

of the demanding UW-Parkside course in tenth place, the last qualifying position for Footlocker nationals, before fading. By any metric, these performances were incredible—with some insight into what got him there, they were almost unbelievable.

The final, and perhaps finest, high school performance in Ben’s career came during his senior season of track. A cocktail of injuries and poor conditions meant Ben—already 3x all-state in cross country—had never qualified to go downstate for track. Injured and unable to run since indoor conference, it seemed impossible he’d ever make it to Charleston. He returned to running the week of conference, determined to make one final effort. On one week’s running, he managed third in the stacked West Suburban Silver conference, outkicked by future NCAA All-American Malachy Schrobilgen and his teammate, Jack Stapleton, both of Oak Park-River Forest. The next weekend, facing the 9:32 qualifying time for the state meet (only a few seconds slower than his personal best), Ben finished second behind Hinsdale Central’s Billy Fayette, running a brave and almost inconceivable 9:27.62. Relegated to the first (and slower) heat of the 3200 meters at state, Ben ran possessed, with a mission: ticking off lap

after lap of even splits. He led wire-to-wire and finished in 9:18.91, a personal best and eleven seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Incredibly, only seven athletes in the faster heat could better this solo performance on three weeks of training—yet again Ben stood on an IHSA podium, this time in eighth.

Eager to continue his running career while pursuing a top-notch education, Ben accepted a scholarship to compete and study at Miami University of Ohio, a mid-major Division I school with esteemed academics and a storied athletic history. Beleaguered once again by injuries, perhaps not helped by his incredible state track meet performance on a bad ankle, he would only compete in a few races for the program during his years in Ohio. Instead, he turned his laser-like focus and ambition toward academics. Successful as a freshman but unsure what path to follow—what major, what career field best suited him—Ben began to feel the stress of intense study paired with fear of losing his scholarship should he not be able to train and race. He moved between majors, from general engineering to paper science to biology, never managing to find the right fit.

Eager to redefine himself academically, Ben took even more advanced coursework as a sophomore, faltering for the first time in his education. Though he ran a couple races and trained with the team, he could not stay healthy—constantly in pain, he decided to end his competitive running career to focus on school. Dealing for the first time with feelings of intense loneliness, unable to perform in the athletic field that had so long defined him, he considered moving home halfway through the year but decided—much as he’d decided as an athlete—to push through, sure he could succeed with smarts and incredible willpower. Unfortunately, he ended the semester one credit hour short of the requirements to maintain his scholarship and around this time began to express lonely, dark, and depressed feelings that worried his brother and parents. He drifted away from his college and high school friends. Though many college students struggle to adapt, Ben’s difficulties proved more complex—at the end of the

summer before his junior year, he had his first psychotic break, unable to think clearly and consumed by paranoid thoughts and delusions. Eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia, an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed illness with over 20 million annual cases globally-most commonly in adolescents and young adults, Ben began taking medication. Though this helped, he still spent the next year and a half in and out of mental-health facilities.

Unable to recognize himself among all the dark feelings, Ben first attempted suicide in early summer of 2013. Though he physically recovered, the following months were a parade of hospitals and facilities, with Ben and his family navigating the circuitous and often counterintuitive mental health system in our country and state-despite a more open mental health dialogue in 2015 than in the past, it’s still in credibly difficult getting productive help and support for individuals suffering from mental illnesses compared to services offered to those with physical maladies. Ben spent two and a half months at Hopewell, a therapeutic farm community in Ohio, but eventually had another suicide attempt and returned to Illinois. Through this dark period, his entire family fought for him—though often unrecognizable as the brother, son, cousin, nephew, and friend we all loved, on good days Ben was present and yet at other times he was unreachable, angry and convinced that everyone and all doctors and

medicines were against him. In a medical system that has trouble understanding schizophrenia his condition never stabilized or improved. Despite meeting criteria for hospital discharge, no intermediate care facility would take him. Ben’s history defined him as a “risk.” Finding no escape from the voices in his head, in the summer of 2015 Ben ended his life.

At a Celebration of Ben Silver’s life, over three-hundred family members, friends, teammates and well-wishers from around the country gathered to share their memories of Ben. For all of his twenty-two years, he was the kind of person who reached out and made a difference, in ways both large and small, to people around him. Ben was very passionate about community—whether genetic, geographic, athletic, educational or social—and we all realized the best way to keep Ben’s memory alive was to keep the celebration going year-after-year, to bring people together regardless of their different interests and varied walks of life and share in Ben’s passion for running. Together we’re working to celebrate in a way which he would approve: sweating it out on the track in the name of effort, community, and love-regardless of speed. A race, a walk, a party, a way to raise awareness of schizophrenia and help others beset by similar difficulties: Ben’s Memorial Mile.

Thank you to all who have attended our event throughout the years. We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Mission Statement

Ben’s Memorial Mile is a nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for mental health research and suicide prevention. We accomplish these goals by hosting positive community events and partnering with other mental health advocates. We hope to bring people together, break stigmas, and empower everyone in the battle against mental illness.

Mission Statement

Ben’s Memorial Mile is a nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for mental health research and suicide prevention. We accomplish these goals by hosting positive community events and partnering with other mental health advocates. We hope to bring people together, break stigmas, and empower everyone in the battle against mental illness.

Registration:

TBD

There will be same-day registration at the event, but we encourage participants to sign up online prior to the event.

Packet pickup:

Race bibs can be picked up in Fishel Park at packet pickup. All participants that signed up will need to pick up a race bib (and four safety pins) prior to the races. Your race bib will contain the chip that will capture your official time.

Your event T-shirt and complimentary raffle ticket will also be available at Fishel Park; you can retrieve these items before or after you run! If you registered after the T-shirt deadline, you will not be guaranteed a shirt.

Results:

Results will be posted online the day of the event at the following link: IL Prep Top Timing.

Awards:

TBD

There will be awards for the follow age groups: 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+ years old. Don’t forget to hang around for our awards ceremony to see if you won a ribbon!

Parking:

You are not allowed to park on the course, and please do not parking on Grove Street at Fishel Park, as this will obstruct the race. There are many options (all free!) to park in downtown Downers Grove (see below). Aside from the highlighted regions, there is plenty of free street parking available off the course.

Race information

(both races will be chip-timed):Your event T-shirt (if you ordered one) and complimentary raffle ticket will be available at Fishel Park. You can retrieve these items before or after you run!

Race bibs can be picked up only at the start/finish line.

4:15 PM: Open/walking mile (for those slower than 6:30 pace for 1 mile)

4:45 PM: Elite mile (for those running 6:30 or faster for 1 mile)

5:30 PM: Awards ceremony & announcement of raffle winners (at Fishel Park – click the button below for age-group leaders that will be recognized)

Fishel Park community festival (3:00 PM – 8:30 PM):

We have a whole lineup of artists that will be performing LIVE MUSIC starting at 3:00 PM! Come with a blanket or lawn chair, and enjoy the music!

There will also be FREE concessions, booths, cornhole, raffles, and a kids tent. All participants will receive 1 complimentary raffle ticket and can purchase more.

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms are at the north end of the Fishel Park bandshell.

Weather/Emergency information:

The event will be cancelled in the case of inclement weather. Emergency information will be conveyed via email. You can also monitor our Facebook and Instagram pages for emergency information.

Prohibited Items:

Pets (aside from service animals), bicycles, in-line skates, and other wheeled vehicles (aside from wheelchairs) are prohibited on the course. If you will be participating with a stroller or baby jogger, you must begin at the back of the start corral for the safety of all participants. No alcohol is allowed on the course or at Fishel Park. Of note, pets on leashes are allowed at Fishel Park.

Our family-friendly 1 mile run/walk and 5k race event is one of two flagship fundraising initiatives for the Lester PTA. Over 35% of our programming budget is generated by the Fun Run and all of its surrounding activities (Experiences, Raffles, Silent Auctions & More)!

The goal for this year’s Fun Run is to raise $25,000 – which is reinvested into the PTA's programs and activities that benefit all Lester students!

Please Note:

• If you want to run both the 1mile and the 5K, you must register for each race individually. You will receive a separate timing bib for each race.

• RACE START TIMES: 5K - 8am, 1mile - 9am

• Register by midnight on September 5th to be guaranteed a T-shirt; registration for run only will be available up until the race start time on 9/28.

• Race timing bibs and T-shirts will be distributed to classrooms during the week of 9/22.

Any Fun Run questions - please contact the event co-chairs.

Thank you for your support! See you on Sept. 28th!

Amy Heitkamp (419-235-6839), Adam DeMong (740-707-4751), Dina Ibach (312-860-7471)

Join us for the 3rd Annual Downers Grove, IL Run for Resilience Ostomy 5k Fun Run and Walk on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in celebration of Ostomy Awareness Day.

We will be offering Professional Run Timing Services with Race Time Race Management - This is a family friendly event and we will also be offering 50-yard dash Kids Runs for ages 5 and under, and ages 6 through 10! We also welcome and encourage you to bring dogs and other pets that can be outside safely! We can provide water and a water bowl.

For six years, the Ostomy Support Group of DuPage County hosted their own Run for Resilience 5k walk and run, and made this an "Official" UOAA event in 2024! Please join us and UOAA to celebrate 9 years of Ostomy Awareness and Support in Downers Grove, IL.

All proceeds benefit the United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. (UOAA), a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible (https://www.ostomy.org).

NOTE: To ensure everyone is safe and comfortable running, walking, or rolling on the run course, we are capping the number of participants at 100 this year.

RACE DAY SCHEDULE

• 8:30 am to 9:15 am Same day registration and packet pick-up

• 9:30 am Gather for group photo and announcements

• 10:00 am 5k Run/Walk/Roll STARTS

• 11:00 am Kids Runs (50-yard Dash)

• 11:30 am Awards Ceremony and Door Prize Giveaway

DON'T DELAY, REGISTER TODAY - Take advantage of Early Bird Pricing for the 5k through July 25th and save! Register by September 4 to guarantee t-shirt availability and your preferred size.

The Registration Fee of $35.00 for the 5k and $20.00 for the 50-yard Kids Run includes a unisex adult or youth size T-Shirt, a Bib, and a participant Swag Bag. Take advantage of Early Bird pricing for the 5k through July 31st and save $5.00! (Price for the 5k goes up to $40 after July 31.) So don't delay! Register today to guarantee T-shirt availability and your preferred size at the event.

THE COURSE

The 5k run/walk/roll will be held on a looped course starting on Birchwood Place, proceeding to Lacey Road, then to Woodcreek Drive, and then back to Birchwood Place. The 5k will end on Woodcreek Drive. Participants are welcome to run/walk/roll any or all of the course, but only participants who complete the entire 5k will be eligible to win an award. The course map is available here and will be posted at the registration desk.

PACKET PICK-UP

Packet pick-up will occur on race day from 8:30 am to 9:15 am.

PARKING

There is ample free parking at the Byram Healthcare office.

PRIZES

Medals for top three overall 5k finishers, male and female, and top three overall 5k finishers for the Ostomate category

Awards for top three finishers of each Kids Run

REFRESHMENTS

We will have a variety of complimentary refreshments for you to enjoy after the race! Trader Joe’s of Glen Ellyn is donating bananas and mandarin oranges, and The Ostomy Support Group of DuPage County is donating the rest of the refreshments.

FREE SAMPLES

Race bags will contain lots of goodies, including samples from sponsors.

CREATE OR JOIN A RACE GROUP/TEAM!

Once you’ve registered you have the option to CREATE a new RACE GROUP/TEAM or to JOIN one that’s already been established. This is a great way to get others in your community to Register to Participate in the Run. Invite family, friends, and co-workers to Register, choose to be on your Race Group/Team (or start their own), and celebrate the day with you! (Please note this is NOT a Team Fundraiser. To set up a Personal or Team Fundraiser, please go to the DONATE button.)

FUNDRAISING

Raise $150 or more and your Registration Fee will be refunded!

The United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports, empowers and advocates for the estimated 725,000 to 1 million people who are living with an ostomy or continent diversion across the country. Fundraising is an important aspect of our Run for Resilience Ostomy 5K. Funds raised help UOAA continue to provide resources, educational materials, advocacy and support to the ostomy and continent diversion community.

To make a tax-deductible Donation, please click on the DONATE Button at the top of this page. We invite you to set up your own Personal or Team Fundraiser when registering to participate in the event, or through the DONATE Button at the top of this page. You can create a unique Fundraiser Name and URL address, personalize your fundraising message, and direct your friends and family to your page to join your team or sponsor you in your fundraising goal.

FUNDRAISING INCENTIVES

♦Fundraising Level - Empower: $225+ in fundraising individually or as a Team Captain.

♦Fundraising award: TBD

♦Fundraising Level - Champion: $425+ in fundraising individually or as a Team Captain

♦Fundraising award: TBD

The Champion level fundraisers will also receive the Empower level fundraising award.

SPONSORSHIP

If you are interested in sponsoring the race, please contact Barbara Tischler at [email protected]

RUN REFERRAL PROGRAM

Invite 5 other people to register and participate in the Run with you and you will be refunded $20 on YOUR registration! Simply share your unique referral link found on your registration confirmation page (email) "Remember to invite your friends with your special URL https:// ..." The referral program is valid for all in-person run locations and the virtual event, so even if they cannot join you where you are, they can still celebrate from afar!

The Downers Grove Thanksgiving Day 5K is here again!

Get into the holiday spirit by joining the 2025 Grove Express 5K Run/Walk, hosted by The Grove Express Foundation. Keeping up with the annual tradition, the scenic run through downtown Downers Grove will take place on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025.

The Grove Express Foundation invests direct donations and proceeds from the event into local educational initiatives, youth programs, and scholarships.

Check back frequently for more information on packet pick up, race day FAQs, Volunteer Opportunities, and more!