Stephen Ward Memorial 5K honors 9/11 victims after 25 years in Gorham

Gorham Runners Honor 9/11‑Victim with 25th‑Anniversary 5‑K

In a quiet town on the edge of Portland, the 5‑k “Stephen Ward Memorial” race is poised to bring together a handful of friends, former teammates and local first responders for a day of running, remembrance and hope. The event, which has been held every year for the past 15 years, will this Sunday mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks that claimed the life of 33‑year‑old Gorham resident Stephen Ward.

Ward was a bond trader working on the 101st floor of the North Tower when the twin planes struck. He had moved to New York a few weeks earlier, still couch‑surfing and dreaming of a career that would “take over” the financial world. A lifelong athlete, he played basketball, soccer, baseball and ran cross‑country in high school before moving on to the University of Southern Maine for two years of basketball and later joining adult leagues.

“Steve was big into fitness and health, and was an athlete himself,” Kathryn Ward, the family’s 54‑year‑old sister, told reporters. “He was vivacious. He lived big, he had big goals.” Though he “didn’t like running,” her brother’s friends remember him taking shortcuts during cross‑country practices, preferring the bounce of a basketball over the steady rhythm of a jog.

The memorial race, organized by Kathryn, began in 2001 as a way for her and the community to turn a painful loss into something positive. “It’s really just been a soothing kind of balm on a really painful wound,” she said. “People needed a place to come and be able to memorialize and honor and remember everything we lost.”

Each year, roughly 150 runners start the course out of the Gorham Recreation Department parking lot. The first segment, a “fun run,” begins at 8:15 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. twenty local first responders and police officers—many still wearing full gear—walk the route in tribute to the 412 first‑responder fatalities that occurred in New York that day. “It’s about staying together, working together, the teamwork and cohesiveness, and the mindset of nobody gets left behind,” said Wendell Howard, a former schoolmate of Kathryn’s who serves as an on‑call firefighter for the Gorham Fire Department and a full‑time firefighter in Portland. “We remember and pay tribute to as many people along the way as we can that have passed before us that served alongside us in one shape or form.”

After the walk, the event shifts to a full‑speed run. Kathryn gives remarks, the National Anthem is sung (usually by Marin Graham, a 21‑year‑old sister who is based in Manhattan working near Ground Zero), and the runners depart at 9:15 a.m. The course is designed to celebrate Ward’s love of competition while honoring the sacrifice of those who served that day.

The race also raises money for a $3,500 scholarship given annually to a high‑achieving Gorham High School senior heading to college. “It’s a way of keeping his memory alive in a concrete way,” Kathryn added.

In the week leading up to the event, former teammates and friends gather for a dinner hosted by Bruce Helper, a high‑school friend and former co‑captain of Ward’s Gorham basketball team. Helper, who still lives in Gorham, hosts the dinner at his home each year, welcoming former teammates from out of state and even the team’s former coach, who is now in Florida. “The group usually catches up at the dinner and talks about Steve,” Helper said. “He played basketball, soccer, baseball and ran cross country, and continued with basketball for two years at the University of Southern Maine and in adult leagues.”

Kathryn’s own children—Stephen Graham, 23, and Marin, 21—belong to a generation that never met their uncle. Marin, who is based near Ground Zero, sometimes sends Kathryn photos of Stephen’s name on the 9/11 memorial. “She’ll say, ‘I had lunch with Uncle Steve today,’” Kathryn laughed.

When the finish line is crossed, the race is more than a distance covered; it is a communal act of remembrance and gratitude. “I can’t believe it’s been 25 years,” Kathryn reflected. “There’s an entire generation that has grown up with no memory of that day.”

The Stephen Ward Memorial 5‑K continues to unite a small town in the wake of a national tragedy, turning grief into a yearly celebration of life, community and the enduring human spirit.