A Green Country family will honor their loved one this weekend by running in the same race he participated in for decades.
They are a family determined to finish what Charlie Green started.
“He went at his own pace, and wasn't rushed to finish,” granddaughter Jordan Green said. “The important part was finishing.”
Charlie Green was a pastor in Okmulgee. He ran the first Tulsa Run in 1978 and had plans of running his last one on the 50th anniversary.
The past few years, he developed health issues.
“He told his cardiologist the last time we were in the hospital, you need to figure out what this is and fix it because I have 10 more Tulsa Runs,” daughter Erin Kelley said.
Green died unexpectedly in April. But the family didn't want his dream to end - so they’re picking up right where he left off.
Five of Green’s grandchildren will run the 15K, just like their Papaw.
“We thought it would be nice to carry on the tradition in honor of him,” Jordan Green said.
The grandchildren each will wear a t-shirt that says “We love you Papaw” with a picture of him running.
“I think that legacy lives on and he is still inspiring us with the beauty and the passion and the grace with which he lived,” Kenzie Green said.
And with that same passion and fight inside, they will continue the race.
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