Tunnel to Towers Run slated for Sept. 27

Once again, runners from Rockville Centre will participate in the Tunnel to Towers Run/Walk on Sept. 27, hosted by The Stephen Siller, FDNY ‘Let Us Do Good” Children’s Foundation. Held annually, this event celebrates the life and legacy of all those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. By taking part in the 5K run, participants retrace the final steps of firefighter Stephen Siller, who lived in Rockville Centre for a number of years as a young boy, as he ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in an attempt to help those trapped inside the World Trade Center during the attacks that day.

The run/walk continues to grow, enabling the Siller Foundation to reach out to children and to burn centers across America. Sometime this fall, Stephen’s House of the New York Foundling will open in Staten Island.This house will serve as a beacon of light for the young children between the ages of 11 and 15 who have suffered unthinkable abuse, abandonment and loss. The Siller Foundation also continues to support children who have lost a parent who died fighting for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This year, organizers are expecting thousands of runners, including 9/11 family members;1,200 West Point cadets; the Wounded Warriors and 150 firefighters from London, England. The New York City Fire Riders Club will kick off the run. As in previous years, there will be plenty of food and entertainment, including marching bands, cheerleaders and singers. And once again, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will preside over the event.

As they have in the past several years, members of South Side High School’s boy’s soccer team will take part in the run as will 200 students from Syosset High School. Additionally, a number of firefighters from local South Shore communities are involved in a number of ways — some will be on hand to prepare for their yearly trip to the Gulf Coast, collecting toys and other goods for children still suffering from the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Some firefighters are serving as run volunteers as other volunteers plan to utilize their skills as massage therapists in an effort to soothe the sore muscles of runners and walkers. Finally, the New York Islanders support both the event and the foundation by sending many volunteers to the run and by hosting a fundraiser, “Firefighter Stephen Siller Night” at the Nassau Coliseum every year.

This year, registration has been moved to Coffey Park, which is located between Dwight and Richards streets in Red Hook, Brooklyn.The run begins at 9:30 a.m. sharp.

For on-line registration and information, visit www.tunnel

totowersrun.org.