AURORA, Colo. — A week of events in remembrance of the 2012 Aurora Theater Shooting wrapped up Saturday morning with the Hero’s Journey 5K.
The event began at 9:00 a.m. at the Aurora Metro Station and ended at the 7/20 Memorial Garden.
“I'm super excited to see, you know, what once was an idea actually become a reality,” Zack Golditch, one of the organizers of the Hero’s Journey 5K said.
Golditch said he has been wanting to host the 5K for a while and was happy to do it in partnership with several other community organizations including the 7/20 Memorial Foundation.
During the theater shooting, Goldith was adjacent to the theater and was shot in the neck when bullets went through a wall.
“The memories definitely are still very vivid,” Golditch said. “Hero's Journey 5K...kind of relates to, for one, the people that responded that night, and the heroism not only from the first-responders but the people who were there helping out one another.”
Over the last 10 years, Golditch played football in the NFL and discovered a new career path as a South Metro Firefighter.
“It's a team atmosphere, I get to be the best version of myself every single day. I'm surrounded by great people,” Golditch said.
Golditch said his firefighting career has helped him understand what it was like for first responders who helped him during the early hours following the shooting.
“For Zack, in particular, like that's a pretty incredible journey, right?” Christian Maklin, Golditch’s coworker and fellow South Metro Firefighter said.
Macklin said it was important for him and his family to be at the event to support Golditch and remember what happened.
“We want, for our boys to recognize what happened to honor what happened and unite honestly around what we do for a living,” Macklin said.
Golditch said it’s hard to believe the shooting was ten years ago.
“For me, 17 at the time when this happened, you know, I've gone through the most developmental years in my entire life, you know, career-wise, character-wise. So it's, it's felt like an extremely long time, but at the same point, you know, I remember it just like it was yesterday,” Golditch said.
More than 200 people participated in the 5K.
With help from the Aurora Public Schools Foundation, Golditch said proceeds from the 5K will go towards the Zack Golditch Opportunity Scholarship to help an Aurora Public Schools student athlete pursue higher education.