The run of their lives
City celebrates Run for Trey
Runners take off at Treyton’s Field of Dreams to begin the 11th Annual Run for Trey in Whitewater, Wisconsin Oct. 10, 2021.
October 10, 2021
The feeling of fun is in the air with huge smiles on everyone’s face. It is time to celebrate the life of Treyton Kilar with so many activities to remember and cherish him – for who he was and is in the hearts of Whitewater citizens.
“I love bringing the community together and celebrating Treyton’s life,” said volunteer Whitney Updike. “I’m friends with the family, I want to support them, and help to raise awareness of destructive decisions.”
Kids were running around in the obstacle course, falling down, jumping up and down in the bouncy house. There were raffle tickets and balloons everywhere to be seen at the 11th annual Run for Trey. The community participated in a 5K run that started in Starin Park, went past the UW-Whitewater Visitor Center, onto Perkins Stadium and all the way around to Treyton’s Field of Dreams. Participants were laughing, sweating, eating, and looking full of pride in their community at the Oct. 10 event.
“This run honors Trey Kilar who was killed at the age six by a drunk driver, and we do this in honor of him. It is important that this event happens since Treyton had a great future. It’s important to show awareness on destructive decisions from drunk driving, and why that is dangerous,” said event coordinator Molly Fuller. “We have 80 volunteers and estimate we have about 200 people attending. We usually aim for about 12 thousand dollars to raise each year for each run. We donate to sponsors in the community.My husband and I will have this event for many years to come, we want to make sure to honor Trey with by donating to sponsors in the community, to give scholarships in his name, and give them to seniors to show his big heart since he would have been a senior in high school now.”
Treyton Kilar was killed by a drunk driver at the age of six on Sept. 2, 2010. He was a passionate baseball player at a young age. The event welcomes citizens from all over the area to run, bringing their support and love by celebrating his life.
“The Kilar family is important in the community. The mother is a principal at Whitewater Elementary school. What happened to her son was a tragedy, and I worked with her before. It’s a good way of remembering and celebrating people’s lives. They give back to the community and it’s great to see this,” said runner Ben Holzem.
They do this by running in the event together as a community, and playing baseball for him. With the recently built baseball diamond, they now run to fund scholarships for high school seniors, maintaining the baseball field and giving back to the community. To learn more about the story and history of Run for Trey and other events, visit https://treysfield.org/.
