Memorial Day race honors KC teen Ralph Yarl, other brain injury survivors
For a second year, a teen who was shot in the head on the front porch of a Kansas City home walked in a 5k race honoring other brain injury survivors on Memorial Day.
Ralph Yarl participated in the run last year a month after he was shot at a Northland home. It happened as he went to pick up his younger brothers and came to the wrong address by mistake. Within a few seconds of seeing him on his doorstep, court records say, the homeowner, Andrew D. Lester, then 84, opened fire, shooting him twice.
This year, Yarl was named the honoree of the 37th annual “Going the Distance for Brain Injury Run,” put on by the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City (BIAKS-GKC).
“I look forward to walking in the run and generating interest in helping those with brain injuries,” Yarl said in a statement before the race. “This is something I am a part of now, and I believe looking after one another starts with caring for those in your community.”
Yarl family holding onto hope for justice
One year after he made what doctors called a “remarkable recovery,” Yarl has held tightly onto his hope for justice. Lester faces felony first-degree assault and armed criminal action charges in the shooting.
Yarl’s mother filed a lawsuit on her son’s behalf against Lester and his neighborhood homeowner’s association, last month.
The suit, filed in Clay County Circuit Court, says Lester and the Highland Acres Homes Association Inc. were careless and negligent in the shooting.
The family is also putting their energy toward supporting others who have suffered brain injuries, namely though BIAKS-GKC.
Memorial Day race helps brain injury victims, families
The organization’s annual race and its honoree aim to “reflect hope, uniting the community in solidarity and support for survivors,” organizers said.
The event offers participants a choice between 10K or 5K runs, a 1.5K walk, and a Fun4Kids event. Participants are encouraged to rally around someone impacted by brain injury by choosing a team at registration, including this year’s Team Ralph.
Participants followed a course through South Plaza neighborhoods, with the start and finish line at Loose Park. Around 950 people registered for the race this year.
Heather Pilkinton, Executive Director of BIAKS-GKC said proceeds from the race go toward programs and services for those with brain injuries and their families.
“We are thankful for Kansas City’s Memorial Day tradition of participating in this run and supporting this cause to raise vital funds,” she said in a statement. “It’s inspiring to have Ralph Yarl as this year’s honoree, as a graduating senior from high school, giving hope to others on their journey to recovery.”
BIAKS-GKC is largely funded through donations, grants, and special events, including the annual Memorial Day run.
The first Memorial Day run was held in 1988 and honored Amy Thompson.
Thompson was shot in an attempted robbery on Halloween night in 1986. For more than three years, she lived with a debilitating brain injury.
After Thompson died in 1989, her friends and family, along with BIAKS, have kept the run going in her memory.
