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Thousands Participate in Sandy Hook Benefit Run in Conn.

The money will go to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund

Sunday, Mar 24, 2013 | Updated 4:37 AM PDT

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Thousands of people took part in the Sandy Hook Run for the Families 5K event in Hartford on Saturday.

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Thousands of people on Saturday participated in a 5K run to benefit the victims' families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Hartford, Conn.

Participants held a moment of silence, followed by the sound of 26 bell tolls, before kicking off the run in Hartford Saturday morning. Nearly 15,000 people participated in the 5k that raised money for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

"Today, they are going to surround that town of Sandy Hook with love and support," said Beth Shluger, director of the Hartford Marathon Foundation .

Though thousands ran, many more from across the country wanted to show their support. The Hartford Marathon Foundation set up what's called a virtual run. People were able to donate and run from wherever they lived.

"We have runners in Omaha, Nebraska, Austin and San Francisco," said Shluger. "We have over a thousand virtual runners."

Event organizers expect to raise more than $400,000. The money will go to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

For more information about the race visit the Hartford Marathon Foundation Web page or the foundation’s Facebook page.

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