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Partly Cloudy Kenny Owens runs 27 miles in 24 hours for his brother
Kenny Owens, of Rockville Centre, will run 27 miles through the village in 24 hours this Saturday, in memory of his younger brother, Kevin Owens, and other local families who have lost loved ones or have loved ones still fighting long term ailments.
This 27-mile goal represents the last 27 days that Kevin spent in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital before succumbing to cancer on April 6, 2017. He was 39.
“I knew deep down inside that I was meant to do something,” Kenny, 48, said, “but I wasn’t sure what.”
The idea was inspired by the 4x4x48 challenge, created by ultramarathon runner David Goggins, in which participants complete four miles every four hours for 48 hours. With the help and support of Buoy4, an apparel company he created with four of his brother’s closest friends, he started the Kevin Owens Run to Remember in 2020. In just its first year, Kenny managed to raise $6,000 for Mercy Hospital.
“It was such a good feeling,” he said. “I just knew that this was something I wanted to do.”
Last year more than 200 runners participated, to help raise $50,000 in memory of another of his brothers, Patrick Owens, who died of a congenital heart problem in 1997. The run was also dedicated to Kathy Ryan, Ava Marie Pupa and Thomas Denis Glackin.
“My goal is to raise $100,000 this year,” Owens said. “Every (organization) that we’re raising money for this year has special meaning.”
This year, he will be running for the Ronald McDonald House Charity in honor of Mario Rinaldi, the Mary Ruchalski Foundation in honor of Mary Ruchalski, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of Michael Dunn, Champions in Courage in the name of Jack Foley, the Heart and Sole Foundation in the name of P.J. Kellachan, the Tommy Brull Foundation in honor of Tommy Brull, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in honor of all first responders.
“It’s amazing,” Owens said, describing the feeling he gets from running for charity. “Just knowing that I get to run all day thinking about Kevin and about the people we’ve been trying to raise money for.”
Kenny and Kevin were the oldest and second-oldest of nine brothers and sisters who grew up in East Rockaway, where they developed a love for the water. This would later lead him to establish Buoy4, which donates $1 from each sale to local water conservation groups like Operation SPLASH in Freeport.
Kevin dealt with health problems early in life. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was just 11 after doctors discovered a malignant tumor on his tailbone. Following radiation and chemotherapy, it went into remission when he was 14.
Time passed and Kevin got married and had a son. He went to work as the first mate on a private fishing boat called “No Time,” based in Oceanside, but in 2010, his cancer returned. After one of his legs needed to be amputated, he was no longer able to work at sea. Then, in 2012, his home was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy, forcing him to live with Kenny and his family for a time afterward.
In March 2017, Kevin was rushed to Mercy, where doctors determined that his cancer had spread to other parts of his body. He died two weeks shy of his 40th birthday.
Kenny, who has been living in Rockville Centre for nearly 20 years, said that while there were many things that he and his brother planned to do, but didn’t, he is reminded not to harbor regrets and to make the most out of opportunities.
“We have to live for today. We don’t know if we have tomorrow,” Owens said. “There is so much to be grateful for today, but we still want to remember the ones who have gone, because they’re helping us lead the way.”
The fourth annual Kevin Owens Run to Remember will take place on Saturday, April 6. The run will begin at Kenny’s home, 127 Lee Avenue in Rockville Centre, starting at 4 a.m. and repeating at 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and midnight. Each loop around the village is approximately 4.6 miles long.
As always, Owens invites the Rockville Centre community to show their support by joining him by jogging or walking a leg of this journey to help support these seven worthy causes. He said that this year, he expects to see a lot more people participating. “If we all do a little, we can make a lot of great progress,” he said.
