Air Force Capt. Hanna Born is running 2,977 miles to honor every person killed in the September 11 attacks.
Born, 27, was among the youngest survivors of that day, rescued from the Pentagon’s day care center when she was not yet three years old. She began the memorial run before last year’s anniversary and has covered nearly 1,000 miles so far, dedicating each mile to an individual victim by speaking their name aloud.
The project grew from her worry that younger generations were losing touch with the tragedy’s weight. “[I] just kind of felt over time, like there was this fading of our promise to never forget, which you often hear associated with 9/11,” she said. She documents the named dedications for almost 30,000 social media followers.
Born and her then-four-month-old sister, Heather, were at the Pentagon’s child care center on the morning hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building at 9:37 a.m. Born remembers playing with dance ribbons before alarms sounded. The rest of that day remains “cloudy,” but certain moments stay vivid: soldiers arriving to evacuate the children, infants rushed out in cribs, and finally crying out for “Daddy” when he found them.
Her mother, a squadron commander at Bolling Air Force Base, immediately joined the response effort. Born’s parents later helped her process the trauma by emphasizing not the attack’s horrors but the heroism of those who risked their lives to save others.
“My parents always made it very clear that it was a traumatic experience, but our family was very fortunate that day because we were united and a lot of people were not, unfortunately, given that same outcome,” Born said.
Both sisters eventually chose military service. Heather is now stationed in Okinawa with the Navy. Born serves as an Air Force instructor pilot. “We wanted to find a way to give back to a bigger purpose in our own lives,” she said.
The run is woven into demanding endurance events including Ironman triathlons. She will add miles during this year’s 9/11 observance at a 34.3 Foundation event running from Long Beach, Long Island to the World Trade Center, an annual tribute to the 343 FDNY members killed.
“I want to do something that lasts longer than just the anniversary of September 11th, and I want to do something that’s personal in a way that matters to everyone who is still here and still impacted by what they lost that day and who they lost on that day,” Born told The Post.
She expects the full 2,977 miles to take roughly three years. The effort also serves as fundraising for the 9/11 Legacy Foundation, which works to educate future generations about the attacks.
“My hopes were that if a family member sees it and they hear their loved ones’ names spoken aloud, they’ll feel like they’re still supported even 25 years later. And I hoped for a younger generation that might not have been around that day, that they understand not only how impactful it was as an event in our nation’s history, but how impactful it was at a personal level for every family member that’s still here and wishes that person was here with them,” Born explained.
She is scheduled to run the New York City Marathon as part of the ongoing project.