LeBonheur Children's Hospital Neuroscience Institute and NICU

10th Annual Rylee’s Run 5K

Rylee’s Run 5k commemorates the life of Rylee Rae Vinson, who was born August 16, 2007, at thirty-two (32) weeks and passed away eight (8) days later due to complications of premature birth.

When the COVID-19 pandemic gripped our community a year ago, we made the difficult decision to make the 9thannual Rylee’s Run 5k a virtual event. In a year where fundraising hit understandable all-time lows, we were amazed by the incredible support of our community who rallied together to help us raise $13,000 and who faithfully took to the streets around their homes with smiles on to log miles in honor of our dear Rylee. We never imagined as we wrestled with how to proceed last year that one year later we would again be grappling with how to fundraise for medically fragile children in the midst of the same global pandemic. 

With the health and safety of our participants of the utmost importance, we made the decision to remain a virtual race again this year (hopefully for the last time!). It is unfortunate that we will yet again be unable to stare out into a sea of friendly faces at the start line of our race at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Virtual race day this year will look VERY different, but our commitment to our mission remains the same. The Le Bonheur Neuroscience Institute and NICU continue to experience great need despite the crippling effects of the novel coronavirus. Premature births and neurological disorders continue to occur, and we know that Le Bonheur is uniquely situated to help. Despite the uncertainty of our current environment, Le Bonheur still needs our support. We hope you will join us (and “bring a friend”) as we continue to adapt and find new ways to create an even better virtual Rylee’s Run 5k.

We continue to realize that COVID19 has affected people in many different ways—some have lost jobs while businessesand restaurants have closed their doors or suffered from lost profits. Recognizing that each participant’s situation is unique, we want to ensure that no one is prevented from running or walking in the 2021 Rylees’ Run 5k because of a price tag. Therefore, our event this year remains FREE to all who want to join us. If you are in a position to donate this year, we gladly welcome any and all contributions. Tax receipts will be sent to all who donate.

Anyone who donates $30 or more will have the option of receiving a commemorative Dri Fit t-shirt mailed to their home after the race (to fulfill social distancing practices) and those who donate $60 will have the opportunity to receive a commemorative pair of Rylee’s Run Goodr sunglasses. Our loyal sponsor Fleet Feet has generously offered to donate $50 gift cards to the overall male and female winners. We will also randomly draw finisher names from the 2021 results for door prizes generously donated by our sponsors. 

With helping children dear to our heart, we will open our virtual race during Mothers’ Day week, beginning on Saturday, May 8, 2021, and will close the event at 11:59pm on Sunday, May 16, 2021. The dates of the 8th and 16th are special to us because represent Rylee's birthday of August 16th (8/16). 

Once registered, we will provide you with details on how to upload your results to our page (take a photo or screenshot of your Garmin, your Strava, your old school stopwatch). Please follow our Facebook event at the following link: https://fb.me/e/1ezBrtxek or follow us on Instagram @ribs_ryleesrun. We hope that you’ll snap a photo of something from your run and tag us so we can all unite for the greater good.

Despite all of the challenges and uncertainties we face today, one of the best ways to cope with stress is exercise. We can still enjoy the great outdoors in honor of Rylee. Our hope is that you will take joy in challenging yourself knowing that next year we should be back together in person and we will never take that camaraderie for granted! There is no entry fee, no roar of the crowd, no post-race party with Venice Kitchen pasta, and no race medals. We hope that you will run or walk with us in loving memory of Rylee Rae Vinson and all children who battle prematurity, or in honor of Kayden Rylee Vinson and her fellow epilepsy warriors at Le Bonheur.

All money raised through RIBS and Rylee’s Run will go to Le Bonheur Children Hospital. Presently, Le Bonheur has the only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in our region and the Neuroscience Institute is recognized as one of the nation's top neuroscience programs. As such, our focus will continue to be on fundraising efforts to  support children with neurological conditions and premature birth. We appreciate all of the support.