A Message From Our Founder

My name is Jason Watson and I founded the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County. I welcome you to our web site and ask that you please consider joining us for what is likely to become one of the premiere races in the Chicagoland area.

As an avid runner and participant in the annual Chicago Marathon as well as numerous other races and the Iron Horse triathlon, it gives me great pleasure to be able to host a running event that combines my interest in physical training and law enforcement. I believe that our race course will be challenging and a break from the "usual." I not only want our race to be different, I hope to involve the occasional runners as well as the experienced veterans.

My training and experience as a United States Marine and as a police officer has taught me the importance of physical fitness and conditioning in everyday life as well as athletics. The principles of health and fitness instilled in me during boot camp continue today as I am committed to a daily training regimen. My hope is that preparation and participation in our event will help others to realize the significance of good health and physical fitness.

I am most proud of the fact that our race will raise awareness for the Cook County Police Memorial along with much-needed funding. All proceeds from our event will go towards building the first-ever police memorial honoring all peace officers killed in the line of duty in Cook County.

I strongly encourage you to ask your friends, family members and co-wokers to sponsor you with a pledge for completing this race. Our foundation needs to raise $2 million to build this memorial, so every extra dollar raised will help us achieve this goal sooner. This is just one way to show our appreciation for the great and sometimes dangerous work that our peace officers do every day while serving and protecting our communities.

I look forward to seeing you on race day. On behalf of our foundation, I thank you for your interest and participation. If you need more information about our organization, please visit our web site at www.cookcountypeaceofficersmemorial.com or call us at (708) 424-6749.

Good Luck and Let the Race Begin!!!!