The Nebraska Football Road Race is special for everyone. Here are some of their stories

Her 7-year-old daughter, Emma, couldn’t walk. She had been diagnosed as an infant with a rare tumor that took up nearly a third of her brain.

But Emma wasn’t about to miss out on the Nebraska Football Road Race festivities, so a family friend of the Gehrings pushed Emma in a stroller in the 1-mile event.

With a beaming smile on her face, Emma was happy, kicking and shaking her red-and-white pom poms as she rolled along the course.

“It’s such a fun day for everyone, and when I think of it, I always see her coming down towards the finish line in her little stroller,” Kathryn said, tears welling in her eyes.

Emma died a year later at the age of 8.

For families like the Gehrings, the Nebraska Football Road Race is vitally important. Not just for raising funds for a desperately underfunded disease, but for bringing joy and a day of normalcy to their children.

“People may think it’s not that big of a deal to spend $30 to register for a road race and do it, but when you start looking at that cumulative effect, right, when everybody does just a little, it can make a huge difference for these little kids,” Kathryn said.

“Sometimes maybe people who do help don’t understand how much it means to those families who are fighting, fighting every single day with their kid. To see people out there trying to help make a difference, it’s really touching.”

The 11th annual Nebraska Football Road Race is July 16. Since its inception after Jack Hoffman’s 69-yard touchdown run in the 2013 spring game, the race has raised more than $125,000 for pediatric brain cancer.

A selling point, other than raising money for a worthy cause and getting to run part of the race on the field in Memorial Stadium, is how the entire Nebraska football team shows out for the race and spends meaningful time with the race participants.

This year’s Road Race Leadership Team comprises linebacker Nick Henrich, quarterback Chubba Purdy, offensive lineman Ethan Piper and linebacker Chief Borders.

All four of them have different perspectives on the race. Henrich and Piper have been around the race since their freshman years. Purdy was first introduced last year, and Borders has yet to experience one after arriving on campus in the offseason.

“It’s the one time that we, the entire football team, get to be with the community,” Piper said. “This event, you’re able to run, talk to families — actually sit down and talk. The genuine interactions you’ll make is crazy. Like, Daniel Cerni, an ex-football player, he’s kept in touch with one of the families that he helped at the Nebraska road race.”

The same holds true for Henrich.

Former Nebraska linebacker Will Honas used to push Andrew Burson in the 1-mile race, but Honas passed the baton to Henrich in 2021.

“Ever since I came into college, Will was always the guy that was my mentor, a big brother figure,” Henrich said. “He’s definitely a brother for life. (When he asked me to push Andrew), that was a big honor because I do think so highly of him and he’s one of the most genuine guys I’ve ever met.

“He knew (2021) was going to be his last year, so he asked me if I would do it to make sure Andrew keeps getting pushed.”

This year, though, will be a little emotional for Henrich.

This could be the last year he pushes Andrew. He does have another year of eligibility after 2023, but he’s treating this season as if it were his last.

“That relationship that I’ve built with him and his family has been pretty cool,” Henrich said. “Just communicating with him and seeing how happy he gets meeting all the guys. His mom and his family are great. But now I’m going to have to find someone, but I already have a couple of people in mind.”

Purdy knows the impact he and his teammates make. While at Florida State, he didn’t do a ton of community outreach. But since arriving at Nebraska last year, he’s always finding opportunities to give back.

This offseason alone, Purdy says he’s visited 10 elementary schools — “or maybe even more than that.”

“These little kids, they think it’s the coolest thing,” Purdy said. “I remember for me, I was an Alabama fan growing up and I’d always be looking at the players, just seeing what they’re doing. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So, now that I’m in that position, it’s crazy to me. I was once one of those little boys looking up to these guys and they want to be like that one day.”

In addition to Emma, the Gehrings have two other children, Aiden and Easton.

Aiden, 13, has run the race before and hopes to run in it again this year — though summer baseball might throw a wrench into those plans.

“He brought it up on his own the other day,” Brent Gehring said. “He goes, ‘Hey, can I run in that?’ He goes, ‘I’m gonna win that thing.’ I mean, he brought it up out of the blue. He has these positive memories of it. Just getting an opportunity to share the impact of Team Jack, the impact of these athletes and let the community know how important it is to our families.”

The importance of the moment isn’t lost on Nebraska’s football players.

Having that opportunity to be a positive light for kids means the world to them, too.

“There’s times where you can take your situation for granted,” Henrich said. “College football is hard, but it’s not even close to what the kids with pediatric brain cancer are going through. Seeing their smile — if you can make one kid’s day, it just means the absolute world. That’s a feeling you’ll never find on the football field.”

Online registration for the Nebraska Football Road Race ends July 15. Details can be found at huskers.com/roadrace.