SOUTHINGTON, Conn — Hundreds of kids competed in the "Race4Chase" in Southington on Saturday to honor a Sandy Hook school shooting victim.
Chase was just seven years old when he died. He loved to run and bike and taught himself to swim.
In his honor, his parents formed the CMAK Foundation, which gives grants to several regional YMCAs and community centers to hold free six-week camps for kids where they get training to be triathletes. On the final day of camp, all the kids come together at Camp Sloper to race for Chase.
"When he was six years old, he did his first and only triathlon," said Rebecca Kowalski, Chase's mom and founder of the CMAK Foundation. "He came into the house one day and said, 'Mama, I want to do that thing where you swim, bike and run,' and I laughed at him and said 'Chase that's a triathlon and you're six.' And he said 'Google it,' and I found him a triathlon."
Race4Chase has grown outside Connecticut too, with more than 350 kids participating across camps in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and South Carolina.
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