Dad Says Family 'Would Never Miss' Run to Honor Chelsea King

For Chelsea King’s family, Feb. 25 is a day to forget. But just as much as that fateful day in 2010 can’t be undone, the King family has worked equally hard to create something good out of the tragic event that ended their daughter’s life.

And so Finish Chelsea’s Run was born—a 5K run/walk hosted by Chelsea’s Light Foundation, an organization that provides academic assistance to notable students through its Sunflower Scholarship Fund.  

“We would never miss it,’ said Brent King of this year’s event on March 3 to honor his daughter. “It’s actually a really positive event in our life because we see so many people who want to be involved and make it better.”

Speaking from his Illinois home where he lives with wife Kelly and son Tyler, he added: “The hard part is the weekend we just went through. Then after the race it’s, ‘Boy, we want to do that again.”

This year marks the second annual official race, though an informal run took place shortly after news of Chelsea King’s fate became public.

In March 2010, just 18 days after her body was found near Rancho Bernardo Community Park where she often ran, more than 3,500 members of the running community arrived at that same park to finish the honor student’s final jog.

, and Chelsea’s Light awarded a total of $60,000 through 10 scholarships. Two of the recipients were students Jenna Belnap and Lyle Ikeuchi.

As for Brent King, the event offers an “energizing” environment where he can meet “all the young kids that want to be Sunflowers” while still remembering the beauty of his own.

“I can’t narrow one thing down,” said King about what made his daughter most special. “I’m going to give you her smile and her blue eyes. She could light up a room. And there’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t think about her — half with smile, half with a tear.”

Same-day registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at Balboa Park, and the race starts at 7:30 a.m. Pre-registration is open until Feb. 29.