Vowing to “Never Forget,” a few hundred area runners participated in the Run to Remember 5K run/walk on Sunday. The event – starting and finishing at the state Capitol – honors the 3,000 people who lost their lives as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The race was rich in American symbolism, with each racer handed an American flag as they passed the finish line. The flags, representing an American who never made it home, were then placed in a pentagon-shaped memorial in the park. Proceeds from the event, now in its fourth year, benefit the Sacramento Area Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund, the Sacramento Police Officers Widows’ and Orphans’ Aid Association and the Wounded Warrior Project, among other charities.

Two-year-old Daleia Childs places her American flag on a nameplate to commemorate Americans who lost their lives on 9/11/2001 on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. Hundreds of runners and walkers participated in the fourth 9/11 Run to Remember 5K run/walk at the Capitol Mall in Downtown Sacramento, Calif. The run/walk is in remembrance of the 3,000 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. As participants crossed the finish line they were handed an American flag, representing an American who never made it home, and placed them in a pentagon-shaped memorial at Tribute in the Park.

Hundreds of runners and walkers participated in the fourth annual 9/11 Run to Remember 5K run/walk at Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. The run/walk is in remembrance of the 3,000 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. As participants crossed the finish line they were handed an American flag, representing an American who never made it home, and placed them in a pentagon-shaped memorial at Tribute in the Park.