It was a near perfect morning in Alpena for more than 500 people who participated in the city’s first ever Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk on Saturday.

The event honored the 343 first responders that lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 and the event all came together because of the smart home that was dedicated in June to an Alpena native that was injured in Afghanistan in 2011.

This was the biggest 5K that Alpena has ever had and it is the start of what will be a rich tradition each year as people from all age groups attended the event.

Firefighters from across different parts of the state participated in the event and ran the entire race in their firesuits, while others ran with their children, police officers wore their uniforms and many carried American flags the entire way in honor of the special day.

The atmosphere was emotional before the race and continued throughout the morning, but there were plenty of laughs, smiles and memories made during the event.

“The race was really nice because it was route that some of us runners have never really seen before. I loved how things were set up at the start and finish lines, along with it being a perfect day. I was really proud to see all of the people who came out, showed support and made a difference on this day,” participant Elaine LaBarge said.

The race began at the Bay View Park Band Shell and participants then followed the race path on State Avenue to Prentiss Street to Second Avenue, across the bridge, around the back of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) building, before finally looping back around to the Alpena breakwall and finishing at the band shell. Along the way, there were signs displayed at different locations of the 343 first responders that lost their lives during the attacks of Sept. 11.

“It was a beautiful morning and a lot of people came out. It was a great atmosphere and it was nice to see everyone come together to make it a nice event,” participant Rich McDonald said.

Planning for the event began early in the year after the Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation wrote a letter to Alpena Township as part of its Building for America’s Bravest program asking for help building the smart home in Alpena.

That home was dedicated in June to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ben Eberle and is the first smart home in Michigan. Eberle served as the grand marshal for Saturday’s race.

The initial letter got Sharon Cole’s attention and she began asking volunteers for help organizing the race. When plans were still in the early stages, Cole thought a turnout of 50-100 people would make the event successful and as time passed, the number of participants grew as did the number of people willing to help.

“I heard from the foundation and started learning more about it. I found out that we have the first smart home in Alpena and today we decided to run the first 5K,” Cole said. “I couldn’t pass up on the offer to start something like this and got a group of people together and more people continued to join up until the morning of the event to help out and it turned out great.”

Along with the run/walk, there were plenty of other activities going on throughout the day including a band, a silent auction and much more to make the first local Tunnel to Towers 5K a successful one.

“The day was a total surprise. We got more runners than what we expected and it was just a real blessing,” Cole said. “We were told before this all started with the signs and other things that we planned that we wouldn’t be able to afford what we wanted and told we were too small of a town, but we had so much help in putting this all together. The fact is Alpena is a small town, but has a huge heart.”