By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Sunday, August 18th thousands of runners gathered together down in Falmouth, MA to partake in the 52nd Annual Falmouth Road Race (FRR). Among these runners was a local Walpole family, consisting of parents Andy and Kate Butler, along with two of their children Addie (15) and Kam (11).
Together, the Butler Family ran on the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation (The Flutie Foundation) for Autism team. This organization is a leading nonprofit based out of Framingham, MA whose mission is helping families and individuals affected by Autism live life to the fullest.
This is the second time Andy and Kate have ran the race for this organization and the first time Addie and Kam were able to join along with them.
Running for The Flutie Foundation (TFF) means a great deal to the Butler Family as their youngest son, Ace, was recently diagnosed with Autism in November of 2022. “When considering ways to support him,” Andy stated, “and go on to meet other people with similar backgrounds, Kate found TFF and then signed up for the road race. I figured if she was running in it then I was definitely going to run in it too. So she and I ran it last year and we had such a great time and amazing experience. It really made us fall in love with TFF and all they do for those affected by Autism.”
Seeing how much their parents enjoyed last year’s race, along with their mutual love for their brother Ace, Addie and Kam decided that they both wanted to join their parents for this year's FRR. “Kam and Addie are both great athletes,” Andy explained, “and they just love Ace so much that they decided they both wanted to run with us this year. I looked into the age restrictions and Kam was able to run so we all signed up and figured we could pool our fundraising efforts. We were thrilled to be able to have this experience together for Ace and I know for Kam and Addie that was a huge and sentimental experience for them as well.”
Running any race can have its challenges, and this has been deemed true for members of the Butler Family. Addie and Kam were not sure what to expect since this was their first time participating and Andy was extremely sick heading into race day. When speaking to them about how they preserved through these challenges, they all detailed how Ace was their motivating factor throughout. “When there were times I got down on myself,” Kam detailed, “I just thought about Ace and how much I love him. That really kept me going and helped me push through to finish.”
Addie further stated, “When I was training, especially on my farther runs, I just wanted it to be over already. Everytime that thought came into my mind I then thought that the reason why I was running was for Ace. I wanted to be able to do this for him and to support the charity.”
Despite some of the obstacles they endured, the Butler Family was able to finish the race overcome with joy and excitement. Meeting them at the finish line was Ace and Kate’s Father along with some other family members and friends.
Kate went on to praise not only TFF for their constant support but also their family, friends and community members. “We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them,” Kate exclaimed, “and they really are the best. Our community and school system that Ace is in is just so great. They have been awesome with giving Ace the services he needs and we are very lucky to be surrounded with this kind of community.”
Andy further stated, “TFF helps people that maybe don’t have the school system that we are lucky enough to have or don’t have the support of their community or family and friends. They are also able to support those who may have more severe Autism issues. That is why it is so important for us on all of those levels to help out in any way that we can.”
As for next year, the Butler Family has already decided that they all want to participate again and push their fundraising efforts even further. “We are so excited to do this all over again next year,” Andy discussed, “and I think the biggest challenge going forward for Kate and I is to train more and step our game up. Now that we know that we can all do it, we want to try to raise even more money and compete in even bigger and better ways. It is always hard because I would tell the kids that we are doing something for Ace that he may or may not be able to do with us. He did the kids race on Saturday morning and had an absolute blast. So I would love to see if he could ever run the race with us which would just be amazing.”
