Rick Hinrichs Memorial Scholarship

4 years ago today, my father suddenly passed away from a heart attack. He was 59. His passing changed my perspective on life. It changed the things I value. It changed me as a man. I started running a year after his death. I’ve logged thousands of miles since and do not plan on stopping. Running is my way of connecting with him; my way to just be with him and talk to him. Running has given me time to reflect on the 32 years I had with my dad. I’ve been able to recall things I have long forgotten about, things that have made me laugh, made me cry, made me miss him more each day. Running won’t bring my dad back but running can help preserve the memories I have. It’s been sometime now that I have been thinking of ways to help preserve that memory. What can I do to help keep his memory alive? This is when I came across the 4/4/48 run created by David Goggins. The run consists of 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours straight for a total of 52 miles. It struck me as something I needed to do. 4 years ago my dad passed away and ironically enough from my mailbox to the house my dad grew up in and back is exactly 4 miles. Everything added up. It felt as if I had been training for this challenge my whole life, both physically and mentally. So this weekend, I will be embarking on the 4/4/48 run for a scholarship I have created in my Dad’s name, the Rick Hinrichs Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be given out to a graduate and former student of his from Mattituck High School this June that embodies the qualities that my father had worked hard to instill in me, qualities that I strive for each and every day. Integrity, honesty, humility, compassion, and respectfulness. Along with possessing these qualities, the graduating senior must be entering the field of education or health. This year’s graduating class is the last 5th grade class my dad had before he retired from teaching. My goal is to raise $1,500 for the scholarship. If you feel like donating, that would be great, if not, I simply ask that you take some time out of each day to make sure that the things you value are prioritized appropriately. Everyone gets caught up in life and life moves by too damn fast. Hug loved ones more, spend more time outdoors, do something that you have been wanting to do, put down some of the technology that we have and connect with someone. Life is way too short to not enjoy every second you can. I will be updating my progress through Facebook this weekend during each of my runs. It may get annoying as hell seeing me in your feed continuously with updates so I do apologize about that now. My running schedule will look something like this: Friday 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm, (Saturday) 12am, 4am, 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm, (Sunday) 12am, 4am, 8am. Not a day goes by that I do not think about my dad. Doing something to honor him helps me cope with his loss. In a way, the time makes it more difficult as I watch my kids grow up knowing that my dad won’t know Tyler or Shea and get a chance to see me as a dad. As for now, all I can do is run and tell him all about Ty and Shea, which I will have plenty of time to do this weekend.