For years on the fourth Saturday of October, the Run LBL! Half Marathon and 10K in Grand Rivers has taken long distance runners on a beautiful, fall-colored course in the heart of west Kentucky.
Now and forever, it has a new name, and an even more powerful meaning.
In a recent decision made by the Grand Rivers Tourism Commission, it’s now the Amelia B. Wilson LBL Run Half Marathon and 10K — in what is a fulfilling reminder of a 39-year-old Tompkinsville native and longtime Grand Rivers resident who devoted her life to organ and tissue donation in the Commonwealth.
As an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, Wilson received a life-changing liver transplant in 2005, following a liver disease diagnosis at age 19. While an undergraduate, she met her future husband, now Cadiz City Attorney and Livingston County Attorney Allen Wilson — a native of Lyon County.
Amelia’s liver came from 13-year-old John Cody Conley of West Virginia, who loved the outdoors and died while riding an all-terrain vehicle.
The Wilson’s wed in 2010 and returned to the area, and over the next two decades, she turned her philanthropic efforts toward the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, served four terms on the University of Kentucky’s National Alumni Association Board of Directors, became a three-time graduate of the University of Kentucky and served U.S. Congressman James Comer as a field representative. She also served time as director of agritourism at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
She received the Sullivan Medallion while at UK — annually presented to one male and one female graduating student based on evident conduct in a spirit of love and the helpfulness of others — and this year received UK’s Distinguished Service Award.
On June 25, Wilson died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, following a longtime battle with her post-transplant lympho-proliferative disorder, which is a form of cancer faced only by organ transplant recipients.
Her husband, Allen, said he and Amelia’s family are beyond honored by this designation from the Grand Rivers Tourism Commission — and that this is a cause his late wife would’ve completely supported from start to finish.
This year’s course will bring part of the LBL Canal Loop into the half marathon, and the race is serving as a fundraiser for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates. Those interested in the October 23 race can register at runsignup.com, and a virtual option is available.
Allen said he’ll likely finish last, but that he’s going to finish it for her.
Sign-up here.
