Foster, an 29-year-old Odessa resident, was initially planning on running the race with his brother Joseph Howell, who died with cancer at age 30 on Feb. 22, a week before the marathon.<\/p>\n
Instead, Foster ran with a stroller with 100 pounds of weight in it to simulate how it would\u2019ve felt running with his brother. Crossing the finish line Foster was emotional for Foster, , who embraced his family and explained why he ran the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we only got to do one run together and during that run, I told him, wherever you\u2019re at, I\u2019m gonna do this run, whether you with me, whether you\u2019re not with me, whether you\u2019re cheering on, I\u2019m gonna do this run for you,\u201d Foster said. \u201c I\u2019m a man of my word, and so, so I had to stick to it, no matter the emotions I was feeling at the beginning, at the end, I was gonna finish it for him.\u201d .<\/p>\n
Foster i received a special moment of recognition before he ran, with cheers from those in attendance .<\/p>\n
\u201cI meant a lot because I was posting on Instagram, because the whole reason was we were trying to raise funds for him to go to a clinical trial in France, and so I started posting on Instagram, just saying, hey, if you guys would donate, I\u2019m going to post the journey. And so just to have everybody rally around, it was really special because the sign said, This is Joseph Howell\u2019s race. It\u2019s not about me at all, like I said, I can do as many as I can ever do in the rest of my life. So it was just really special to me to feel the support and just be able to pour it back into him,\u201d said Foster, \u201cI don\u2019t think it was just me. I think he definitely was helping me, helping me push. Sidebar, we had a flat tire. I had to change a tube and everything. He was a very, very stubborn person, and so I also think that was kind of his doing, just as some dark humor to say, hey, keep on working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster was supported by family in attendance who came out for support.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an older sister. He was my older brother, and then I have a younger brother and two younger sisters. So it\u2019s a big family. We\u2019ve always been really close to each other, obviously, you butt heads, just like any other sibling. But I mean, we\u2019d all go to battle for one another. So that\u2019s kind of just what I wanted to prove today to everybody. I have a little slogan that I\u2019ve said, Go get yours. Go get yours, and then for this, I was telling people, go do something for somebody that can\u2019t do it for themselves,\u201d said Foster.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Erica Grone, Emily Lemoine and Mike Donnelly<\/a> also ran with wear blue: run to remember, and did a Circle of Remembrance before Saturday and Sunday\u2019s races.<\/p>\n They\u2019re a part of wear blue: run to remember, which \u201ccreates a living memorial through the steps of our athletes and the support of our volunteers,\u201d according to the national organization\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Lemoine talked about how this organization, with help from her, pushed her mother to run her first marathon at 53 to honor her son Staff Sergeant Tanner Grone who died in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter my brother passed away, I was just looking for an organization that I could feel a part of as a sibling and wear blue gave that to me, and more, much more, and so when we were at the San Francisco marathon weekend, my mom said that she\u2019s not a runner and she could never do it,\u201d Lemoine recalled. \u201cAnd I told her, she told Tanner and I we could do anything that we set our minds to. So she could, too…. Now she\u2019s ran a half-marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n Grone explained why the organization was important for them and what inspired them to get involved.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a point of your life that there\u2019s a great loss, and you don\u2019t want to keep moving. And this pushes you to get up out of the house, off that couch, and just move and think about those memories you have with your child. And so it\u2019s helped. It\u2019s helped me. It\u2019s definitely helped Emily and every single person that has been part of this group, It\u2019s amazing,\u201d Grone said.<\/p>\n Donnelly, a 31-year Air Force veteran shared similar sentiments when saying why he decided to partner up with wear blue: run to remember to honor Boswell High School graduate and Green Beret William Brown.<\/p>\n \u201cI met up with wear blue about three years ago here at the race, and I just felt that their foundation of what they want to do is what I believe in honoring the veterans that didn\u2019t come home, or the ones that came home and lost their fight to the demons, and I just feel it\u2019s a really good organization,\u201d said Donnelly.<\/p>\n All three said anybody interesting in volunteering or supporting the organization should go to wear blue: run to remembers<\/a> website to learn how they can help.<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 4:21 PM.<\/p>\n Grace Parker crosses the finish line during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n
Mike Donnelly crosses the finish line after competing in the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n