SEWELL, N.J. — In the hour before the Gaudreau Family 5K on Saturday morning, with the sidewalk still wet from a rainstorm the previous night, hundreds and hundreds of participants filed into Washington Lake Park and headed toward a clearing where the race was to begin.
A rainbow in the sky greeted all of them.
“The boys are here,” said Deb Vasaturo, one of the event organizers.
Nine months ago, mere days after John and Matthew Gaudreau were struck and killed by an SUV driver while riding bicycles together on Aug. 29, a group of close friends, including Vasaturo, had gathered at the family home in Penns Grove, N.J., hoping to offer support to the brothers’ parents, Jane and Guy. That day, a double rainbow had split through the sky — a tiny comfort in a period of unimaginable grief.
The 31-year-old John, better known as Johnny among fans, was playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets when he and 29-year-old Matthew died, and Zach Aston-Reese felt his presence throughout the NHL season. In February, on the first birthday of John’s oldest son, a beautiful sunset graced Columbus; late in the season, before a must-win road game for the Blue Jackets, a rainbow appeared above the Philadelphia Flyers’ arena. He was touched again when another rainbow emerged before the 5K, as throngs of runners and walkers gathered for the race.
“It’s almost a year since (the accident), but I think it’s something that can take a lifetime to heal from,” Aston-Reese said. “Any time you get a chance to support, especially the bigger events, it’s really special.”
Around 1,100 people signed up for either the competitive 5K, which kicked off at 8 a.m., or a more casual 8:45 a.m. race of the same distance. Kids had their chance to compete in a one-mile run later in the morning. Multiple race participants wore jerseys of John, a seven-time NHL All-Star nicknamed Johnny Hockey, who played for the Calgary Flames and Blue Jackets. Some also wore gear for Matthew, who reached the AHL after a four-year career at Boston College and most recently suited up with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers in 2021-22.
The park was alive with activity throughout the morning. One tent showcased signed jerseys up for a silent auction, as kids played lawn games nearby. Baskets sitting on the covered stage were raffled off. Below them, attendees wrote memories and messages of support for the Gaudreau family on a big white banner.
The event raised money for an adaptive playground at Archbishop Damiano, a special education school in Westville, N.J. The Gaudreau family has deep family connections with the school: Jane’s brother has special needs, and their mother worked there for more than 40 years. All four of the Gaudreau kids — Kristen, John, Matthew and Katie — have either volunteered for or worked at the school too.
“The playground has been a project for I think four or five years, and there just never was enough funding,” Vasaturo said. “(The 5K) was a perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”
Fans sign a banner for the Gaudreau family. (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)
Jane, Guy, Kristen and Katie were present throughout. Both boys loved children, Jane said, so seeing all the smiling kids would have been everything they would’ve wanted in the event. “I think they would just be so proud of us that we did (this),” she said.
Guy noted that Matthew would have run the 5K and won. He frequently beat John in off-ice exercises growing up, leaving his older brother “so mad he couldn’t see straight,” their dad said with fondness.
Professional hockey players went out of their way to attend as well. South Jersey natives Buddy Robinson, who played 62 NHL games and is now in the KHL, and Tony DeAngelo, who played with the New York Islanders this past season, were both there. Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, a teammate of John Gaudreau’s for the United States at the World Championships last summer, traveled from his offseason home on the Jersey Shore and wore a black sweatshirt that read “Johnny Hockey.” Aston-Reese and Erik Gudbranson represented the Blue Jackets.
“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” said Gudbranson, who came with his wife and kids straight from a trip to Disney World. “There’s no way.”
In the aftermath of John and Matthew’s deaths, the Gaudreau family’s friends wanted to find ways to help. Vasaturo initially thought of the charity 5K. When she approached Guy and Jane in October, Jane thought it was a wonderful idea but felt the family didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to provide much help.
That wasn’t an issue. Their friends — a committee of around 18 people — took care of it all.
“They did everything, organized everything,” Guy said. “They just wanted us to be here.”
Community members beyond the committee, including Aston-Reese, helped too. The Blue Jackets forward studied graphic design while playing college hockey at Northeastern University, and one of Jane’s friends reached out and asked him to create the event logo. Honored, the Blue Jackets forward came up with a design — two interlocking hockey sticks with doves above them and the Gaudreau family name across the middle — that ultimately went on the race shirts and medals.
“It was pretty surreal pulling in and seeing everyone with their shirts on and the logo you created,” Aston-Reese said.
NHLers Brady Tkachuk (black hoodie, left) and Erik Gudbranson (white shirt, back) walk in the “Fun 5K run/walk.” (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)
Along with the race in Sewell, more than 1,300 people signed up to compete in a virtual 5K, with participants across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in multiple other countries, including Ireland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. Florida Panthers players, who are preparing for the Stanley Cup Final, participated from Fort Lauderdale.
“Thursday, yesterday and even this morning I woke up, (and) I can’t clean out my inbox because I get all the notices of all the donations and all the registrations,” said Paul O’Connor, an organizing committee member whose son was a childhood friend of Matthew. “It just keeps growing.”
Jane Gaudreau said it was emotional pulling into the park and seeing how many people were there. She and Guy initially expected the 5K to draw maybe 100 or 200 people. To see it balloon into an event with more than 1,000 was “overwhelming, but in a good way,” she said.
After the races, the family stood on stage for an award ceremony. The public address announcer listed off the overall top finishers, then the winners of each age group. The NHL players on hand presented awards: In place of trophies, each person received a gift card and one of the hockey sticks left at public memorials after John and Matthew’s deaths.
“Just to be able to show support for this amazing family and see this amazing turnout, it was pretty great to be a part of,” said Tkachuk, who walked the more casual 5K. “I’m just so thankful they had me here.”
Guy Gaudreau runs the Gaudreau Family 5K. (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)
Every finisher received a medal that read “1st annual 5K run/walk,” indicating Saturday wasn’t a one-off event, and indeed the current plan is to continue it in the future. Jane has seen messages asking if the family would host the race in Calgary or Columbus, which has given her ideas. She saw requests from Calgary first, so she said she’ll perhaps run next year as a virtual participant with people there.
But this year the Gaudreaus were home in New Jersey, only a five-minute drive from Hollydell Ice Arena, the rink where the boys spent countless hours as kids. Jane stood near the end of the course as the fastest runners wrapped up the competitive race. She clapped and whooped as they neared the finish line.
Guy, meanwhile, ran the race. He wore a bright orange long-sleeved shirt, and the crowd burst into applause when the public address announcer pointed him out as he came around the final turn. Vasaturo, the friend whose idea led to Saturday’s event, cheered and cheered from the stage.
“His strength and Jane’s strength and their resiliency is just amazing,” she said. “We just want to be there and help them along the way, take these steps with them.”
(Top photo of the Gaudreau family and NHL players: Gillian Kocher / Gaudreau Family 5K)
