When Solomon Huff takes to his heels in Saturday's Jingle Bell 5K, he's going to do it differently.
And for someone else.
"John Nielsen Senior was a gentleman at my church I was around for a couple of years, and he recently passed away," Huff said. "I was already signed up (to run) because I was a student at KCA (Kingdom Christian Academy)."
Huff, a recent high school graduate and now a soldier in the U.S. Marines Reserves, plans to wear a pack and run his race.
"I kind of got the idea and talked to his son about it -John Nielsen Junior," Huff added. "(Nielsen Sr.) was a Marine who served in Vietnam."
With the family's blessing, he will remember his friend when he starts the race at 9 a.m. Saturday. It will start at Memorial Park and will benefit Heart of Missouri CASA and KCA.
"So I've got a backpack that I'm going to put some weight into and run with that," Huff said. "I've also got a hoodie, and a T-shirt he gave me."
Huff attended KCA from fourth through eighth grades.
"My relationship and faith in God is greatly in part to KCA and the friends and families I met through the school. I learned what it means to be a servant of God and to do things for other people rather than for ourselves," he said.
In May, Huff graduated from high school in May.
"Last June, I shipped out to boot camp, and I just finished the school of infantry," he added. "My duty station is in Springfield."
Huff said he also went to KCA with Nielsen's granddaughters.
"We all had connections to KCA," he added. "I knew it'd mean a lot to the family."