On Saturday, April 25th, a team of Realtors from Altera Real Estate Silicon Valley will be tying the laces on their running and walking shoes to participate in the fourth annual run in the Almaden Valley honoring Pat Tillman, the local kid (my daughter Laura went to middle school with Pat at Bret Harte Middle School) who played football at Arizona State, and later, famously, for the Arizona Cardinals. If that was the end of the story, the local legend, however, might have left less of a legacy.

What most Americans remember about Pat has little or nothing to do with San Jose, nor with football. Pat Tillman walked into history after walking off the field of a successful NFL football career in 2002, the memory of 9/11 fresh in his mind and with a desire to give back to the country that had given him so much. He became an Army Ranger. Tragically, errant friendly-fire in a narrow Afghanistan mountain canyon ended Pat’s life way too soon. Stunned friends, teammates and colleagues came together to celebrate his life and fund a foundation, the Pat Tillman Foundation, to support Pat’s memory and the life he lived. The foundation’s motto is “Leadership through Action.”

The Altera Real Estate team will travel the 4.2 mile course (Pat’s number was 42), hoping in their small way to honor Pat, his example, and help create his living legacy. For more information or to support the Pat Tillman Foundation, please go to PatsRun.com.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco