5K honors memory of Ben Layton

SALISBURY, Md. – People in Salisbury on Sunday laced up their shoes and hit the pavement and it was all for a good cause.

Runners were celebrating the life of Ben Layton, a four year old who died from leukemia back in 2002.

Layton has a playground dedicated to him. It is called the Ben’s Red Swings playground and that is where Sunday’s run called the 14th Annual Ben Layton Memorial 5K kicked off.

In addition to honoring Ben’s legacy, runners were raising money for cancer research.

Sunday’s run generated $10,000 dollars. That money will be going towards the upkeep of the Salisbury park as well as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

“This playground represents that’s great about Salisbury, and it was built in five days by community volunteers,” said Katherine Layton, the event organizer.

“It was an amazing event and that spirit continues on today,” said Layton.

There was also a ribbon cutting in celebration of new plants at the playground’s butterfly garden.