Runners will gather before dawn at Audubon Park Pavilion 10 this Saturday for a 5K that carries far more weight than a typical weekend race. The event honors 1st Lt. Travis Manion, a Marine killed in Iraq in 2007, and marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a ceremony that blends military tradition, live music, and remembrance.
The race is organized by the Travis Manion Foundation, according to WDSU, which reports the foundation is bringing the event back to New Orleans for the third time this year as part of roughly 50 runs it's organizing across the country. Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at Audubon Park Pavilion 10, with the race itself starting at 8:30 a.m., the station notes.
Manion, a Marine, was killed in Fallujah on April 29, 2007, after he drew enemy fire away from his wounded squad during an ambush, an action that allowed every other member of his patrol to survive, according to the Travis Manion Foundation. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor for the sacrifice. Manion is buried at Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery beside his U.S. Naval Academy roommate and best friend, Navy SEAL Lt. Brendan Looney, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in September 2010, the Washingtonian reported.
A Commanding Officer Returns to Lead the Tribute
For New Orleans native Beau Higgins, the race is personal. Higgins, a retired Marine colonel who completed a 25-year career commanding the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and the headquarters battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, personally served as Travis Manion's commanding officer before Manion's death in Iraq, according to the Travis Manion Foundation. Higgins now works with the foundation, and told the station that Manion personally served with him.
Higgins said the phrase Manion is remembered for, “If not me, then who?” remains central to the foundation's work, WDSU reports. Manion himself said the words before his final deployment, according to the seed report, a line that has since become a rallying cry for the organization that bears his name.
Saturday's ceremony will include performances from the Tulane Color Guard and the United States Marine Corps Band, adding a formal military presence to the community race, per the same report.
Part of a Growing National Movement
New Orleans is just one stop in a much larger effort this year. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Travis Manion Foundation's 19th annual 9/11 Heroes Run series includes roughly 100 events around the world, with more than 60,000 participants expected nationwide, driving race registrations up more than 30% compared with 2025, according to Military.com.
The series traces back to Manion's own visit to FDNY Rescue Company 1 shortly before his final 2007 deployment, a visit that inspired his family to organize the inaugural race in his hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 2008, per the Travis Manion Foundation. CVS Health is the national title sponsor for the 2026 series.
Passing the Torch to a Generation Without Living Memory
Foundation leaders reported this month that an estimated 95% of midshipmen currently attending the U.S. Naval Academy were born after September 11, 2001, according to Military.com, a statistic that underscores why the foundation frames these races as tools for civic education rather than personal recollection. As living memory of the attacks fades, events like Saturday's run are increasingly designed to translate first-person history into lasting community service for younger generations.
September 11 itself carries formal federal weight beyond any single race. Congress designated the date as Patriot Day under Public Law 107-89 in December 2001, requiring U.S. flags to fly at half-staff, according to the White House. The foundation also marks Manion's death each April.
The Navy has honored Manion at an institutional level as well. In January 2025, the Department of the Navy announced that a future San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock warship, LPD 33, will be named the USS Travis Manion, permanently attaching his name to the fleet he served.
