Our View: You can honor Rana’s memory at 2-mile color run

Published 11:28 pm Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Few stories have resonated throughout the community as much as that of Southeast Whitfield High School senior Rana Mashburn, who passed away Oct. 22, 2015, from a rare auto-immune disease.

On Saturday, Southeast Whitfield hosts “Color Me Healed: Rana’s Race for HLH.” The event is a 2-mile color run to honor Mashburn, with all proceeds from going to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital HLH Center for Excellence for research funding. Rana received many of her treatments at that hospital.

The race begins at the Southeast track at 8 a.m. Registration is $30 for individuals and $25 per person for a group of four or more. Register at www.colormehealed.weebly.com or on site the day of the race.

Mashburn was diagnosed in July 2015 with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In the last few months of her life, she was the source of inspiration to many as she continued to fight despite overwhelming odds of recovery.

Thousands of dollars were raised to help her in her fight as contributions came in from across northwest Georgia and even from other parts of the country. The hashtag #RanaStrong became a rallying point for the Raider community.

This race is a great way to honor Mashburn’s memory with a fun event doing one of things that Rana loved. She was a three-sport athlete for Southeast as she played basketball and volleyball and ran track. She was known as being a tough competitor and a valued teammate.

We hope you will consider participating in the race or contributing to a worthwhile cause.