# Running for Ellie



## MCLEA (Jul 23, 2004)

Running for Ellie
By Elizabeth Malloy/ [email protected]
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

While she was training for the Massachusetts State Police Academy, Ellen Engelhardt would run the streets near her home on Furnace Street in Marshfield almost every day.

"She ran just about 3 miles everyday, come hell or high water," said Engelhardt's boyfriend Rick Teves, a sergeant with the State Police.

This Saturday, a committee of Engelhardt's fellow state troopers are hosting a run in Engelhardt's honor along the same streets she used to run.

In July 2003, Engelhardt was nearing the end of her midnight shift on Route 25 in Wareham when she parked her cruiser in the breakdown lane to investigate an accident. While sitting in her patrol car, a drunk driver slammed into the cruiser, causing Engelhardt severe head injuries.

Since then, Engelhardt has slipped in and out of conscious and undergone many surgeries, with many more to go, and is under constant care at Middleboro Skill Care. Teves said she has been improving lately, staying healthy and regaining more cognitive ability, but she still has a long road ahead.

Last year, five state troopers, including Teves sister Irma, and the daughter of a Massachusetts state trooper organized Ellie's Run, a 5K walk and run held in Marshfield to raise money for Ellie's Care.

"We've had a great response this year," Irma Teves said. "Everyone's really behind us. It's been overwhelming."

Last year's run drew 955 runners and raised $29,000 and Teves said organizers are hoping for an even better turnout this year.

Ellie's Run will go along a similar route to the one Engelhardt ran when she was training for the Academy: down Forest Street, starting at the intersection of Forest and School Street, onto Furnace Street, up Route 3A, onto Old Main Street, back down Forest then the opposite direction on Furnace Street, ending at Furnace Brook Middle School.

In addition to pledges from runners and walkers, organizers will also be selling t-shirts, customized teddy bears, water bottles, glasses, key chains and other commemorative trinkets. Runners, many of them state troopers, are coming from all over New England and as far away as Virginia, and there is still room for more.

"You can sign up [to run] up until the gun goes off," Irma Teves said.

In addition to Engelhardt's care, proceeds from the race will also go towards several brain injury research groups, Shriner's Hospital and Middleboro Skill Care to help them purchase a handicapped van to take patients out.

Irma Teves said they're hoping for a festive mood at the race and organizers are trying to arrange a fly over from a Med-Flight helicopter and the State Police Pipe and Drum Column and honor guard will be on hand. Engelhardt herself may come to the race, as she did last year, but Rick Teves said they will not decide whether she is healthy enough to come until the day of the race.

Irma Teves said the Marshfield police have been very helpful in planning the race, and no major roads will be closed. At one point one lane of Route 3A will be closed, and some of the side streets will be closed temporarily, but Teves said she hopes the closings will be brief.

"Our main concern is we don't want to have an adverse effect on the people of Marshfield," Irma Teves said. "They've been very good to us and really given us a warm welcome."

Teves said the race is expected to last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is a free children's run at 10 a.m. and the main 5K starts at 11 a.m.


----------

