Teen runner dedicates one mile to fallen Polk County deputy killed by friendly fire

MULBERRY, Fla. - Family, friends and fellow law enforcement gathered for a one-mile tribute to remember fallen Polk County Deputy Blane Lane. They were led by a young runner who has put in hundreds of miles to honor the lives of heroes lost. 

Those four laps around the Mulberry High School track helped to bring healing and comfort to a community that's still hurting.

In running, the feet cover the distance, but the heart carries them to the finish. Inside Zechariah Cartledge's heart, Thursday night, was Deputy Lane.

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"I hope this run helps anybody who needs comfort or support," Cartledge said. "I know that he's with us here in spirit, every step we took here tonight."

The 14-year-old from Seminole County started the non-profit Running 4 Heroes to raise awareness and funds for first responders who die in the line of duty. He runs one tribute mile for each life lost.

"Running is obviously not easy for everybody," Cartledge said. "So, doing a mile just shows that we have dedication to help out these families of fallen first responders."

Mile 1,364 was dedicated to Deputy Lane. October 4, the 21-year-old deputy was killed in the line of duty while serving a warrant. The bullet came from a fellow deputy's gun.

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"Blane loved people," said his grandfather Darrel Sodders. "He loved what he did. He was good at what he did."

Lane's family watched from the Mulberry High School field where they once cheered him on as a football player, and a few even joined the mile.

"I'm just really honored that he's being honored," said the deputy's mother Shellie Lane. "I wish he could be here with us."

Running 4 Heroes raised more than $6,000 to support Deputy Lane's 3-year-old daughter, Kate. Cartledge presented the check, a flag, and a handwritten note to his family.

"I met Blane in high school here," said Hope Wood, Kate's mother. "And from the time I met him, that's all he talked about. He wanted to be a deputy. He wanted to be the next Grady Judd."

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"They put their lives on the line every day, and they don't have to," Shellie Lane said. "They wake up, and they choose to put on that uniform to protect us and to keep us safe."

It was a fitting tribute to a young deputy who knew exactly what it meant to go the extra mile.

"I'll always love him and miss him," Sodders said. "We will never be the same. But we'll have to learn to cope with it."