Thousands gather for 13th Annual “Cinco De Mile” Braden Aboud 5k Run/Walk

Thousands of people ran for the 13th annual Braden Aboud “Cinco de mile” run/walk at Zach White Elementary school Sunday morning.

Amigo man, Spike the Rhino and even Pistol Pete were out at Zach White elementary school pumping up the crowd of runners with the macarena.

Every year thousands of people gather together to run in honor of 14-year-old Braden Aboud who lost his life in a tragic skiing accident back in 2007.

The Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and educational development of El Paso’s youth.

“It encompasses so much of the youth of this city that its beneficial in helping the community to be able to carry on my brothers memory,” said Avery Aboud, Bradens sister.

Avery went on to say that her brother was just one of those people that accepted everybody, he was friends with everybody and always had a helping hand and took into consideration what people deserved and needed.

Last years run was the largest race for the foundation with over 11-thousand participants and over $110,000 given back in grants.

Schools, teams and organizations that attend in groups can receive grant money for their participation.

According to their website, the foundation has been 100% volunteer-ran. For Nick Gonzalez, the past three years he participated in the run by volunteering. This year however, he decided to sign up to run in the race and he took first place.

Runners finished the race with the community cheering them on from the sidelines.

After the run, there was plenty of things to enjoy from rock walls to dancing men on stilts.

If you would like more information on other programs provided by the Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation, CLICK HERE.