Finishing the run of a Northeast Arkansas woman

Newport, Arkansas – A 5k was hosted in Sutherland’s honor with the proceeds going towards her memorial scholarship fund for health profession majors at Arkansas State-Newport.

The Sydney Sutherland Memorial Scholarship was set up at the start of last year.

It awards $500 per semester to medical majors at Arkansas State-Newport, with the requirement of a 2.5 GPA to be eligible.

Sydney Sutherland’s mother Maggie Sutherland, Sutherland said the crime in Memphis hit close to home. “It has been a very hard week with the last week’s tragedy over in Memphis, it really hit, is just like a trigger and it sets you back and makes you replay things,” said Sutherland.

It has been two years for Maggie, and it never gets easier. “It is not the same situation but the same way and my heart goes out to that family and I now because it has been two years for me,” said Sutherland.

The safety of other runners has been on the mind of Sutherland. “All I can say is I am worried about the female runners,” said Sutherland.

Following some safety tips could just help save your life. “So I just tell everybody please take your route put it on your phone and tell someone, change your route up, reverse just do anything,” said Sutherland.

Maggie is making sure that her daughter’s tragedy is not forgotten. “I am going to keep it going, my goal right now is to get stronger and stronger and be Sydney’s voice and to speak out for her,” said Sutherland.

It’s impossible to eliminate all of the risks that come with running solo but provided some precautions women can take.

• Ditch earbuds or leave one out
• Carry pepper spray or pepper gel
• Let someone know where you are and use GPS tracking
• Learn some self-defense maneuvers