My connection to the Tunnels to Towers 5K is deeply personal. My family’s story with the World Trade Center began long before September 11th.
My grandfather was a partner in Dale Coane for 20 years and became CEO in 1984. Dale Coane was one of the first tenants in WTC 2, the South Tower, where our family worked for nearly 20 years, with our offices on B1. During those years, the towers became much more than a workplace. They were a part of our lives, filled with friends, colleagues, and people our family came to know and care about — connections and memories we will always carry with us.
During the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the explosion occurred in B4, directly below us. My mother was the company’s Head of Staff and was there that day and pregnant with me. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including scrapes. After the bombing, we were moved upstairs. Months later, when we were finally allowed back into the towers, my mother walked back inside — a moment she will never forget.
The bombing changed the way our family viewed the towers. What had been a place of work, opportunity, friendships, and nearly two decades of memories became a place forever connected to fear, survival, and resilience.
Dale Coane was sold in 1999, but our family’s connection to the towers never truly ended. Just two years later, on September 11th, the towers were attacked again, forever changing our city, our country, and countless families. Along with the buildings, we lost people and connections that had been part of our lives and our family’s story. The people we knew, the relationships we built, and the memories we shared are things we will never forget.
My grandfather passed away before September 11th, but his legacy and the years he spent as a partner and CEO of Dale Coane remain an important part of our family’s story.
Today, my mother owns the company sponsoring my Tunnels to Towers 5K team. For me, this run is about carrying that history forward — honoring my grandfather, my mother’s courage, the people we knew and will always remember, the lives lost on September 11th, and the heroes who ran toward danger when others were running away.
I’m not just running a 5K. I’m running to remember the people, the connections, and the stories that can never be replaced — and to make sure they are never forgotten.
