- May 23, 2025
Grace McGovern, Patricia McGovern, Joann McGovern starting the 5K. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Runners at the start. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Brittany Fajardo of Ormond Beach ran with her dog. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Danny MacNeil recovers after finishing the race. MacNeil ran with the American flag for veterans organization Team RWB. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Danny MacNeil rolls up the American flag on its pole after finishing the race. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tunnel to Towers 5K Palm Coast event director Patrick Appolonia. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tyson Regier with his wife Nicole and daughter Quinn. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Chasen DeWind, 14, of Palm Coast grabs a water bottle form a volunteer as he finishes the race. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Steve Rentz and his daughter Jostelyn Rentz at the finish line. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Andrew, Giuliana, Kelli, Aubrey and Olga. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Palm Coast Fire Department Junior Firefighters run to the finish line. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Tunnel to Towers 5K Palm Coast participants run and walk the course under the American flag. Photo by Hannah Hodge
After the event, Palm Coast firefighters Michael Ginn and Robert Ballou take the American flag down from the crane. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Danny MacNeil runs while holding up the American flag. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Danny MacNeil holds up the Stars and Stripes as he runs. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Billy Hambelton of Palm Coast finishes. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Steve Rentz of St. Cloud is exhausted after finishing the race. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Azwim Baccus raises his arms as he finishes. Photo by Hannah Hodge
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Patrick Juliano (left) receives the Tunnel to Towers Follow the Footsteps Award from PCFD Chief Kyle Berryhill. Courtesy photo
They ran and they walked in support of veterans and first responders.
The fourth annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk in Palm Coast raised over $15,000 in donations and sponsorships for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, volunteer race director Patrick Appolonia said.
Appolonia said well over 500 runners and walkers signed up for the event held on Saturday, April 26, at Central Park in Town Center. Many current and retired first responders and military personnel, some wearing full gear, ran the course.
Most of the donations were raised by teams of participants, although individual raised a large portion as well, Appolonia said.
Before the race, Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill presented the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Follow the Footsteps Award to Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Patrick Juliano. The award recognizes individuals who make a lasting impact in their communities.
Besides Juliano's duties as a department lieutenant and paramedic, he is also the department’s public information officer and memorial bagpiper. Juliano and Palm Coast Pipes and Drums performed with the honor guard during the event's opening ceremonies and the start of the race.
The Tunnel to Towers 5Ks honor Stephen Siller, a Brooklyn firefighter who was one of the 343 first responders killed in New York City on 9/11. He had just gotten off his shift on Sept. 11, 2001 when he heard about the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers. He grabbed his bunker gear and headed to the World Trade Center. After getting stuck in traffic at Brooklyn’s Battery Tunnel he ran in full gear from the tunnel to the towers.
Appolonia, who works in the Communications and Marketing Department for the City of Palm Coast, reached out to the foundation in 2021 about hosting a Tunnel to Towers 5K here. The first one at Town Center was held in 2022, and it has grown each year, he said.
Appolonia said he’s always felt a kinship with firefighters. His great grandfather, grandfather and uncles were all firefighters in New Jersey.
The foundation provides mortgage-free homes to gold star families, families of fallen first responders and homeless and wounded veterans and first responders. The foundation’s Let Us Do Good Village in Land O’ Lakes is a community of smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The organization has also developed 10 homeless veterans villages across the country with plans for 11 more, including ones in Orlando and Jacksonville.
This was something I felt connected to. I’m proud to see it grow every year.
— PATRICK APPOLONIA, who helped bring the event to Palm Coast
“This was something I felt connected to,” Appolonia said about bringing the 5K here. “I’m proud to see it grow every year.”
Many of the participants weren’t able to run, but they could walk or simply line at the finish line and show their support to the finishers, from race winner Julius Dayandante, 55, of Ormond Beach, who finished in 18 minutes, 58 seconds to the last of the walkers who crossed the finish line 1 hour and 25 minutes after the race started. Grace McGovern, 89, of Palm Coast, finished in 1:20:35.5.
“People show their support any way they can,” Appolonia said.
Army veteran Tyson Regier ran in full Army gear. Regier is a JROTC instructor at Palatka High School. He and his family moved to Palm Coast last summer.
Danny MacNeil, of Palm Coast, held up an American flag through the entire 5-kilometer run. MaNeil, an Army veteran who was in the 82nd Airborne Division, ran for Team Red, White & Blue (teamrwb.org), a national organization described as America’s health and wellness community for veterans.
Alex Minhas, 20, of Palm Coast, finished second with a time of 20:22.2. M. Yorgey, 12, of Palm Coast, was the female winner with a time of 22:29.6. She placed 10th overall.
The youngest participant was K. Steiner Lyons, 4, of Palm Coast, who finished 13th among females under 18. There were seven participants over 80. For complete results, go to https://bit.ly/4lO7ynF.
