It is amazing at times what inspires us to be better people and make a difference in the world.

Coping with loss, with tragedy, inspired me to lace up my sneakers and get in shape.

Meanwhile, Tahoma High senior Alicia French chose to, as Ghandi famously said, “be the change you want to see in the world.”

French coordinated a 5K run-walk Feb. 23, with the help of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and it came off splendidly at the high school.

I know because I was there in my sneakers. But, let me rewind a bit.

Last summer, I dealt with loss, and I started walking. Then in a 30 day period I walked in three events: the Bra Dash 5K at Lake Wilderness which raised $30,000 for Maple Valley-based breast cancer research foundation Wings of Karen, the Issaquah Run followed by the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Bellevue the first weekend in October.

Shortly after that I decided to do something I never thought I would do and that was start running. I downloaded a Couch to 5K program app to my cell phone, told my husband he was going to do the nine-week program with me, and off we went.

I ran a 5K race for the first time Dec. 9, the Jingle Bell Run in Seattle, with my friend Ilyse at my side while another girlfriend Bambee pushed a double BOB jogging stroller with her son and my daughter in it so I could focus on the race. Her fiancee, Ed, who is also a runner, took photos. It was an amazing experience.

Other than the fact I finished in 49 minutes, 25 seconds. Still, I finished.

I decided I would try to run five more races before the end of June. The race I signed up for in January was pushed back to April. So, I was looking for a race to run in January or February. Nothing materialized for the former and then Katherine Smith wrote a story which appeared in the Jan. 25 issue of the Reporter about French’s event, “Coming Out of the Darkness of Suicide.”

Smith was telling me about the interview and mentioned the walk French organized was planned for a Saturday in February. The timing was perfect.

French told Smith in January she had experienced several losses to suicide: family friends, the brother of a friend, then her freshman year, the death of her best friend.

Because her best friend was an athlete, I have talked to people in the Tahoma community about him, about his death and I know how much it impacted his teammates as well as his coaches. I cannot begin to imagine how hard it was for French.

“That was what changed who I was as a person,” French told Smith in January. “Literally right after he killed himself I said, ‘This is my chance to make a difference.’ I knew I had to make a difference.”

She told Smith she didn’t want anyone to go through what she did after her best friend committed suicide.

Statistics collected by the Washington State Department of Health cited in Smith’s article show that suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in this state.

French is not alone in her grief.

And based on what I saw the morning of the walk, which drew 37 participants, those who remain to cope with that loss are not alone though they may feel like it.

This event, while small, was wonderful to participate in. I was the one nutball who decided to run the 5K. Everyone thought I was a little crazy. I guess it was something I needed to do for myself. But, I love participating in community events like this, and I do so whenever I can. It was a small triumph for me to finish my run in 42 minutes, 5 seconds.

After I got back and stretched, I was offered a cow bell to ring to help greet the other participants who walked in solidarity to support the cause, to remember the loved ones lost and on a mission to raise money for the AFSP.

One of the reasons I consider this event, small though it was, a success is because French is well on her way to her goal of raising $5,000 by June 30.

A few days before the walk, I looked at the fundraising website and more than $2,000 had been raised, but as of Monday morning the total was more than $3,000.

French is an example of why the community of Maple Valley is so great, why the Tahoma School District has such a wonderful reputation, and why I am glad I laced up my sneakers to be a part of it.

I believe French will easily hit her fundraising goal. And thanks to the walk I believe she will also be the change she wants to see in the world.

Talk about making a difference.