An event to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice was held Saturday morning in West Palm Beach. The Blue Line 5k took place at Keiser University and one young man is using the race to "pay it forward".
Planted in the front row, 10-year-old Zechariah Cartledge is not hard to miss.
Zechariah is one of the youngest runners leading this race for a cause that leads his heart.
“I heard how many officers passed away in the line of duty,” he says.
Since January 12, including this run, Zechariah has ran 132 miles all around the country. Each mile is for a fallen first responder.
“They see me run and they run with me. It really just brings their happiness up a lot more,” Zechariah says.
The Orlando native has no plans of slowing down. His practice has paid off. On Saturday he took home the first place award for his age group.
Then he got another surprise. The LEO Awards committee honored Zechariah for his work in the community.
But for him he says the biggest reward after each race isn’t the praise, it’s being able to present each family with a blue line flag.
“To do it for a cause and to do it for a police officer is amazing,” he said.
