More than 1000 runners and spectators braved the pre-hurricane warnings and spent the morning of Sunday, October 28 supporting the Travis Roy Foundation in the seventh annual Bill’s Pizzeria 5K Road Race and Spooky Sprint at the Mason Rice Elementary School in Newton, Mass. This year, runners raised more than $7,500 for the Foundation, which funds research for spinal cord injuries and donates individual grants to assist those who live with spinal cord injuries so that they can lead productive lives. The Travis Roy Foundation has donated grants for vehicle modifications, voice-activated computers and other adaptive equipment.

“Seventeen years ago, you all helped me to live a productive life, so thank you for coming out this morning for this run to support the Travis Roy Foundation,” Travis Roy said at the race.

The Travis Roy Foundation was started in 1997, two years after an ice hockey accident left Travis paralyzed. Now in its 15th year, the Foundation has donated $2,420,000 of adaptive equipment to people living with spinal cord injuries and has awarded more than one million dollars in research grants.

The 5K Road Race was started by Kelly Fattman and Dean Chronopolous, the owner of Bill’s Pizza in Natick and Newton, after Dean’s brother Taso was paralyzed in a car accident in 2005. In its seven years, the race has raised more than $50,000 to benefit the Travis Roy Foundation.