Joggers honor Sydney Sutherland through 5k

NEWPORT, Ark. (KAIT) - Joggers lined up at Arkansas State University Newport for a 5k to honor Sydney Sutherland.

Sutherland was killed in 2020 when she was jogging, the 5k was held on Saturday to “finish her run”.

Over 140 arrived at the campus where Sutherland attended. Her face was on every jogger’s bib. Many of them were wearing pink, Sutherland’s favorite color.

Her mother, Maggie Sutherland, was also there along with several members of Sydney’s family. Sutherland said she’s not a runner, but she makes the run every year for her daughter, who loved to run.

“It was a way she just found a way to relax and enjoy, clear her mind, so running was her thing,” she said.

For her, there was no better way to honor her daughter.

A moment of silence was held and a rendition of “Amazing Grace” by a bagpipe player, before the run.

“I just want to keep her memory alive,” said Becky Head, one of the runners. “It’s important that everybody remembers you know the good that Sydney brought to the world that she had a future, that all of that was taken from her so young.”

Sutherland’s future was in nursing. According to her obituary, she earned her Licensed Practical Nurse license in 2018.

Since her death, a memorial scholarship was founded in her honor, it benefits a Health Professions Student at Arkansas State University Newport.

The 5k also raised funds for that scholarship.

“Whoever gets the scholarship, if they don’t know her, they learn about her, if they don’t know the story, they learn the story. She lives on in each one of the students that does it,” said Head.

Since 2020, over $10,000 has been raised for the scholarship.

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