Patchogue native Michael Murphy, killed in Afghanistan, honored at race

Nearly 3,000 people ran four miles around Lake Ronkonkoma to honor Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Patchogue native who died in 2005 during a reconnaissance mission in the mountains of Afghanistan.

Murphy, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, and his four-man Navy SEAL team were attacked by a group of 30 Taliban fighters. Saturday morning, runners from all over the country honored his sacrifice at the race named after him: the Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy Run Around the Lake.

“Michael has reached so many lives and his story resonates with so many people as the epitome of all fallen heroes,” Murphy’s father, Daniel Murphy, said.

Members and veterans of the Army, Navy, the FDNY and NYPD joined members of the community on the lake’s drizzly shores. Actor Taylor Kitsch, who played Murphy in “Lone Survivor,” the 2013 movie based on his story, also ran in the race.

“It’s an awesome experience,” Kitsch said. “It’s a noble thing to be a part of.”

Runners from 24 states registered for the run, and people from all 50 states, as well as Kuwait, Italy and Belgium, completed the run virtually in Murphy’s memory, Paul Dobiecki, one of the race’s organizers, said.

The Ronkonkoma Rotary club has hosted a race around the lake since 1980, but this is the sixth year the club held the race in Murphy’s honor, Dobiecki said. Since the race has been named after Murphy, participants have increased from around 800 to nearly 3,000 this year, not including spectators, he said.

“We have to support our military,” said Eleanor Burnett, 50, a fourth-time runner and police officer from Patchogue. “I think it brings everyone together.”

The crowd came together to watch the runners, some carrying the U.S. flag or dressed in military attire, cross the finish line.

Before awarding the race winners, the event’s organizers recognized a dedicated group who had completed a 50-mile run in Murphy’s honor. The group had been running since 7 p.m. Friday from a firehouse in Spanish Harlem, arriving at the lake just in time to complete the four-mile run.

“They’re all here for Murph,” said Freddy Rodriguez, the runner who started the 50-mile course six years ago.

Ronald Hurtado, member of the Airborne Tri Team, an organization that helps veterans that suffer physical and mental health problems, also completed the 50-mile run. He took the stage after to highlight the mental health issues veterans suffer daily, leading spectators and runners through 23 push-ups -- 22 for each veteran that he said commits suicide daily due to PTSD, plus one for every civilian suicide.

About 70 percent of the proceeds from the event will go to veteran causes, Dobiecki said. This year, they hope to raise $150,000.

Last year, the race raised $104,000, which was donated to the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation, the Lone Survivor Foundation and General Needs, a homeless veteran donation project managed by the Rotary Club, Dobiecki said.

“People come together to do this,” Lonnie Sherman, president of General Needs, said. “To support veterans.”