Willowbrook 5K memorializes Lauren Kiefer

When Janice Kiefer chose to plan an event to honor her daughter, Lauren, she knew it had to be something active and focused on fitness.

“Lauren was such a fitness queen,” Kiefer said. “That was her life, her workouts, and I wanted to have something for her that celebrated that.”

That is why she and two colleagues formed the Lauren Kiefer Memorial Foundation, Inc., which will host its sixth annual “Remembering Lauren 5K Run/Walk” at 9 a.m. Saturday at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, where Kiefer works as an athletic secretary.

The event raises money for several local charities.

Kiefer lost her 24-year-old daughter on Christmas Day, 2006, when Lauren was murdered in her home near Oakbrook Terrace. Authorities later accused a former classmate Robert Rejda, 26, of breaking in through a window and then, after Lauren interrupted the burglary, fatally beating her with a baseball bat.

Authorities said he was linked through DNA evidence, phone records and incriminating statements. But before he made it to trial, Rejda was found dead of an apparent suicide in his cell at the DuPage County jail in December 2007.

Part of the effort behind the foundation and today’s run, Kiefer said, is to replace some of the harrowing memories of her daughter’s death. After so many “horrific news reports,” Kiefer said it was important to shift the focus to what Lauren’s life was about.

“I wanted to try to replace that publicity with something positive,” Kiefer said. “Lauren had a beautiful zest for life. She was so giving and loving, and that’s what I wanted for her ... just to have a day.”

Roughly 400 participants and 200 volunteers are expected to participate in Saturday’s race, which includes raffle prizes including a five-day stay in Myrtle Beach, SC. Proceeds benefit local charities chosen by Kiefer and the foundation’s co-founders, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Parents of Murdered Children, Easter Seals, local families in need, and scholarships for Willowbrook students.

Kiefer said participants have always been generous with their donations, and they are also supporting her new book about Lauren, “Infinity: A Story of Infinite Love Between a Mother and Daughter,” which was released early this year.

The book tells the story of what has transpired since Lauren’s death, Kiefer said, adding she believes Lauren’s spirit is still with her.

“It shows how she carried me and made me get through life,” she said. “Because how can you live after something like this? Now it’s bringing her legacy even further.”

Walk-in registration is accepted for today’s 5K, and Kiefer’s book is available at several online retailers including Amazon.