A Sunny Run for Cristin
By Katie McFadden
After seven weekends of rain, the sun came out for the beautiful occasion of honoring Cristin Mullen on Saturday, October 28.
On a rare 75-degree late October Saturday, dozens came out the boardwalk at Beach 94th Street to do what the late Cristin Mullen loved best—run. And there’s no doubt that the late runner, lifeguard, special education teacher and kind soul brought out the sun and warm weather for the event operated by the Rockaway Track Club. “She wanted to make us sweat,” her mom, Noreen Mullen said.
The annual Cristin Mullen 5K Run/ Walk was held for the third year in honor of Mullen, who on December 17, 2020, died at age 35 due to complications from a long battle with epilepsy. Despite her battle, in her short time here, Mullen never let her condition stop her. With the ultimate courage, she pursued and continued to embrace the things she loved, doing it all with love and kindness. For 16 years, she worked as a federal lifeguard at Riis Park, looking out for beachgoers. She also went on to become a special education teacher, working mostly with Pre-K students for District 75, pouring her heart and soul into working with kids with special needs. When she ran marathons, including the New York City marathon four times, she did it for charity, raising money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital three times and one time for Rockaway WISH.
So to remember Cristin Mullen with a running event that brings together the community she loved, to raise funds for children in need, is something she would be proud of. “If you knew Cristin and you wanted to honor her memory, well, you’d probably need to run a marathon, but there would be no other way to honor her than with a run where the money raised goes to children in need because she had a big heart and she loved working with young kids,” Noreen Mullen said.
This year, the proceeds from the Cristin Mullen Run went to the St. Rose of Lima CYO Program for the second year. Mullen spent her childhood as a CYO athlete and St. Rose has a special place in the Mullens’ hearts as it’s where Cristin’s grandparents were longtime parishioners, and where her grandmother served and a longtime librarian. The school’s library is now named for Cristin’s grandmother, a stained-glass window is named for her grandfather and a park for preschoolers has since been created and named for Cristin after the first annual Cristin Mullen Run in 2021. Last year, with the proceeds, the St. Rose CYO program was able to buy jerseys for the teams, jackets for the coaches, pay for food at their jersey night and cover the fees for some families who can’t afford to play. That will all continue with the funds raised from this year’s run.
In addition to entry fees, t-shirts and hoodies were sold at the event, which concluded with an after-party at the Knights of Columbus, where guests were able to buy tickets for raffle prizes generously donated by local businesses and friends of the Mullen family, and 50/50 tickets, all to raise more funds for St. Rose CYO. “I know this would make Cristin smile,” Noreen Mullen said.
It was evident that Cristin was smiling down on her friends, family and kids as they took to the boards to run in her name on Saturday. “She would love this. This was her second home, on the boards,” her uncle Dan Daly said, as he and Noreen mentioned that even the morning before the massive seizure that claimed her life, Cristin ran six miles on the boardwalk. “She left her mark, that’s for sure,” Daly said as he watched the final runners cross the finish line.
