Running Together to Honor Ty
For Tim and Kay Jabin, running has always been connected to their relationship.
They met in college and spent time running together. Kay continued running after they married, while Tim eventually stepped away from the sport. Nearly 40 years later, they are running together again.
This time, they are running in honor of their son, AW Tyrone Anthony Jabin.
Ty was known for his enormous smile. He shared it freely with everyone he met and had a way of making the people around him happier. He was a helper, a loving son and brother, and a friend who valued being part of a team.
“He made everyone happier when he was around,” Kay says. “His presence is dearly missed by all of us.”
Ty also loved the water, whether he was playing with his family on the lakes of Northern Michigan or body surfing in the Gulf of Mexico. His love of sports and teamwork eventually drew him to the Navy.
For Kay, running has long been a way to manage stress and make space to process whatever life brings. After Ty died, one of her first prayers was that she would stay healthy enough to keep running.
“I knew that I would need that time to myself on a regular basis to process everything going on and to soak in the healing power of nature.”
Tim found his way back to running differently. In the weeks between learning of Ty’s death and his funeral, he knew he needed to move and get outside. One day, when the emotions became too big, he put on a pair of hiking boots and went for a trail run.
“My mind, body, and spirit knew they needed to get outdoors and move.”
Now, training for the Marine Corps Marathon gives Tim and Kay something they can do together. Their grief is not always the same, and they have learned to respect the ways each of them navigates it. But their training provides time to remember Ty, talk, listen, and support one another.
“On our long runs, we get to remember and honor Ty together,” Tim says. “It’s good to have this time together to celebrate our son.”
Their connection to wear blue: run to remember began years before they lost their son. Kay and her oldest daughter, Rebekah, experienced the Tribute wear blue Mile while running the Marine Corps Marathon in 2013. The experience stayed with Kay and she began wearing a wear blue shirt on her Saturday morning runs. In 2019, Kay and Rebekah ran their second Marine Corps Marathon both in wear blue shirts; with Ty’s death nine months later, their family became personally bound to the wear blue community.
Now, Kay and Tim are part of the Gold Star & Survivor Endurance Program, preparing to take on the Marine Corps Marathon together.
For Tim, the marathon is a physical challenge he would not have chosen for himself. But honoring Ty gives him the reason to do it.
“The only thing that would motivate me to run a marathon would be to honor my son. I owe that to Ty.”
For Kay, the journey offers an opportunity to connect with other families who understand the weight of loss and to find healing alongside them.
They hope their journey also reminds other Gold Star and Survivor families that life continues after loss.
“You get up off the floor. You learn to smile again. You give yourself permission to laugh again. First you walk, then you run,” Tim says. “Other families need to see us run so they can believe that they will run again one day.”
This October, Tim and Kay will run the Marine Corps Marathon together, carrying Ty with them through every mile and celebrating the 22 years of love he shared with their family.
