Runner Honors Mentor with Every Marathon Mile

September 24, 2026

On October 11, tens of thousands of runners will stream past Mercy Home’s West Loop Campus near Mile 17 of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Mercy Home is proud once again to field one of the event’s largest charity teams with 586 Mercy Home Heroes, as they are known, taking on the 26.2 mile course while raising funds in support of our work.

It’s with enduring gratitude that we share some of their stories and reasons for running.

Keya M. Reed-Redmond was just a teenager when she ran out of options.

Growing up in Baltimore as the oldest of nine children, Reed-Redmond faced instability from the start. Her father was killed when she was three years old, caught up in drugs and gang violence. At home, support from her mother was inconsistent, and by the time she reached high school, she had been expelled from every school in the Baltimore public school system.

“I didn’t want to end up like my mother,” she said. “I knew there was something better.”

With nowhere left to turn, Reed-Redmond made a decision that would change her life. She walked into a local church in search of answers.

“I knew I needed help, but I didn’t know how it was going to come,” Reed-Redmond said.

“Once I had that opportunity, I ran with it,” she said. “I wanted to make him proud.”

Today, the multi-talented attorney carries Owens’ memory with her as she prepares to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on behalf of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, an organization that resonates with her own story.

“When I saw their mission, I didn’t have to look any further,” she said. “They are doing what people did for me when I was growing up.”

Her motivation is simple. She knows how different her life could have been.

“I just want to be able to be that person for somebody now. … “I say this all the time that I probably wouldn’t be here without him,” she said. “And if I was, it wouldn’t be in a courtroom defending somebody.”

While driven to succeed in many areas, Reed-Redmond remains committed to her family, helping to raise one of her nieces who now lives with her. Reed-Redmond is determined to give her niece opportunities she never had.

“I want to pay it forward,” she said. “It’s in me to try my best to do what I can.”

That same mindset fuels her running journey. She began running in 2021 while deployed in El Paso, Texas. She initially started running to lose weight, but it ultimately became a passion. After completing a half marathon and setting a personal record, she’s now preparing for her biggest challenge yet this October 11. And in doing so, she’s honoring the legacy of Bobbie Owens who passed away in 2023.

Each mile Reed-Redmond conquers in Chicago will be a tribute to the man who changed her life. Off the course, her dedication to helping others find the same support she once needed honors the legacy of a mentor who became a father figure.

“He fed, nurtured, and cared for me as if I was his child,” she said. “He was my family. He was my everything.”