5K Race Honors Memory Of Horsham Family's Son

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —They race to honor Jack Duffy. He's been gone five years now.

But his mother Colleen knows that Jack is looking down with pride. And will be Sunday.

The Hatboro-Horsham High School graduate lost his battle with depression while attending Dartmouth College in 2019, ending his life just after his 20th birthday.

Ever since then, his family has organized a race in his memory with this year's 5th Annual Jack Duffy 5K Power Run taking place on Sunday, Aug. 13, starting at Hatboro-Horsham High School Stadium and continuing along the Power Line Trail in Horsham Township.

Proceeds benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Greater Philadelphia chapter, which serves Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

She hopes to raise $10,000 from the event.

"He was a wonderful, super smart, athletically talented, kind person," his mother said of Jack. "He loved running and competing with himself."

The power run also includes a 1-mile walk, Duffy said. Online registration is open until the start of the race. Awards will be given for both in-person and virtual events.

On Sunday, check-in begins at 7:15 a.m. with the race starting at 8 a.m.

With the five-year anniversary, Duffy is planning some special speakers and events for the more than 250 local runners, walkers, and volunteers expected to attend. She said that state Sen. Maria Collett is expected to serve as a guest speaker.

Duffy said plans for the race started just after her son's death when his high school teacher and track coach D.J. Fromal and her older son Ryan, 28, approached her and her husband William.

"I'd never done anything like that," she said. "But we dove right in. Jack was guiding me, saying, 'You can do it; you can learn it.'"

Duffy said in the first year, "We figured it out and begged people for sponsorships."

The event was even held virtually during the pandemic, Duffy said. She said the race averages between 200 and 250 participants each year.

"Jack's death was the greatest tragedy of our lives," his mother said. "It's more common than you think. It touches a lot of lives."

It touched the life of Jack's friend Michael O'Neill, who honored his high school chum by running in the Boston Marathon.

"I do think that Jack would be proud," his mother said. "He would be pleased by how many people he had an impact on."

Duffy said the race is the best day of the year for her family.

"On that day, we know everyone will be thinking of Jack. It's a happy event," she said. "It some ways it feels like a long time since he died and some days not. We're doing well. The run is part of our healing."

(Photos Courtesy of Colleen Duffy)