Rochester Family Honors 11-Year-Old Daughter With ‘Miles for Maddie’ 5K After Utah Tragedy

A Rochester family is organizing a 5K Road Race and Walk on Saturday, Sept 19 to honor the memory of their daughter who was tragically killed in February of this year. Eleven-year-old Madelyn Eitas died after being caught in an avalanche while skiing with family members in Utah.

Remembering Maddie Eitas: A Vibrant Young Athlete

Madelyn's mom Rebecca visited Townsquare Sunday to share thoughts about her daughter and offer details about how people can get involved with the road race.

"Madelyn was the best. She truly made an impact on everybody's life by being herself," Eitas said. "She was loving and energetic and fun, and everyone adored her and loved to be around her."

Eitas described Maddie as very athletic, thriving in local soccer leagues, skiing with family members, and loved running.

Creating the Forever 1111 Foundation

Shortly after Maddie's death, people wanted to help the family any way they could, including offering money. Eitas said the family chose to use those donations to start the Forever 1111 Foundation to focus on areas that Maddie and her family loved and cared about: skiing safety, avalanche awareness, and youth sports.

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"We would like to give back to local organizations in the Tri-Town area," Eitas said. "Our local communities have supported us through all of this, so we want to give back to the various youth athletic programs."

Raising Awareness for Ski Safety and Avalanches

"Skiing in Utah for the first time, we were unaware of the dangers of avalanches there. We obviously would never have put our children in danger, had we known," Eitas said. "So we want to make sure avalanche awareness and skiing safety has a significant place in the foundation."

"We've been in talks with people in Utah, trying to get the word out, especially to people who are visiting ski areas for the first time and are unfamiliar with the dangers of avalanches," she said.

Courtesy Rebecca Eitas

Event Details for the Miles for Maddie 5K

The Miles for Maddie 5K Road Race and Walk will take place Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. at Dexter Field in Rochester. The registration fee is $50. You can sign up or donate at runsignup.com.

The event will include a DJ, glitter, t-shirts, food trucks and fun. "We want to make this huge, exciting and fun, just like Maddie was," Eitas said.

If you would like your nonprofit or charitable organization featured on Townsquare Sunday, please email the host at jim.phillips@townsquaremedia.com.