Few may realize this park bench's ties to a slain runner
Few may realize park bench's ties to a slain runner
By Bryan Painter
Published: June 17, 2007
Occasional runners and a bicyclist or two passed the wooden park bench facing Lake Hefner as the wind curled tiny waves into white caps.
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Remembering Judy
The $10,000 was handled through Crime Stoppers and was held in trust until its eventual return when the case went unsolved, according to Oklahoma City police.
There have been various tributes to Weichert's memory through the years, but in November 2003, the running club's "Committee to Suggest Use of the Judy Weichert Fund” submitted recommendations to its board of directors.
Out of those is a 5K run and 1-mile fun run held since 2004 during Oklahoma City's Downtown in December, benefiting the Judy Weichert Scholarship Fund presented to children of police department employees. They didn't stop with the run and the scholarship.
This month, the club held a dedication at Lake Overholser to recognize the three park benches they bought and installed last fall. Along with the benches at Lake Overholser and Lake Hefner, one also has been placed along the Oklahoma River.
"Those are very popular outdoor recreation locations for walking, running and bicycling,” Smith said of the sites of the benches. "We wanted to utilize the money from the fund to memorialize her and partly we wanted to remind runners that there are some hazards out there when you're running alone.”
Smith said the club has about 400 members and he obviously doesn't know each, just as he didn't personally know Weichert. But he said there are some common safety tips runners can adhere to, such as running with someone, having an awareness of the surroundings and observing safety measures such as running on the left side of the road against the flow of traffic.
This is not to say Weichert was not careful. It's just an opportunity to use a tragedy to re-emphasize how to take steps toward being safe while participating in an activity many enjoy, including Weichert.
Supportive of others
Weichert started running in 1979 and won a 10K race in Edmond while she and her husband were members of the Oklahoma City Running Club. Both also had run the Dallas White Rock Marathon.
In September 1984, a club member who knew Weichert, noted only as "The Other Judy,” wrote a piece for the club's newsletter. She described a person who was not only a dedicated trainer, but an intense supporter of others.
She gave as an example the marathon at White Rock.
"For hours after the race, you could find her listening intently to everyone's personal story of their run,” the writer said. "She was always there congratulating, listening, supporting, doing whatever she could to make the rest of us feel great. Just being in her presence made us happy.”
Smith didn't know Weichert, but he knows marathons. He's run 13, including the Boston Marathon twice and the New York City Marathon once. So the fact that she was a marathoner tells Smith a lot about Weichert's love for running.
"Having the designation of a marathoner is a badge of distinction for a runner,” Smith said. "It takes a great deal of dedication and training to run a marathon.”
Maybe through the run, the scholarship and the benches, Weichert's memory will continue to do what the runner herself did for so many — offer positive support.
As the writer in the club newsletter stated, "We are all so fortunate to have had our lives touched by such a beautiful person.”
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