Glenbow Elementary students have been running to pay tribute to an inspirational young man at the Brett Binder Walk and Run.

Glenbow has been doing the daily walk and run for almost 31 years; this year the event began on June 13 and will end June 28.

The walk and run was renamed in 2007 after former student Brett Binder, passed away from cancer at 19. Karen Edwards, Glenbow School teacher says the decision came after his sister spoke of the walk and run at his funeral.

"I still have the quote from the funeral" she explains. "Karla said, 'Brett would run around the soccer field with our mom, collecting popsicle sticks with each lap he completed. Mom would let him know when there were five minutes left and Brett would take off, leaving my mom in the dust. Looking back it seems pretty silly that he would work hard for a bunch of popsicle sticks, but that was who Brett was.'"

Edwards says it was very interesting to hear that the school's walk and run had such a big impact on his life.

"He became a great athlete, he was MVP when he was on the Cochrane Cobras, he was captain and star of the basketball team in highschool. It's kind of like the walk and run started him on his way."

This year, the walk and run was extra special, as Brett's parents attended for the first time and spoke at an assembly the day it started.

"We have a little assembly every year, and we talk about how he was a strong athlete, but he was a really fair kid who just wanted to be out there and doing stuff; super determined and hardworking. This year was quite neat because his dad and mom attended, and his dad spoke about Brett."

After almost three weeks of running, the school will conclude the event by running the Cochrane Ranche on June 28.