January 9, 2023
Kylie Pope loved to run.
At Summer Creek High School she made the varsity cross country and track and field teams as a freshman after previously running at West Lake Middle School and starting her passion for running in the Girls on the Run program at Lakeshore Elementary in the third grade.
Running is something that she loved to do. Her final run in April 2021 was 3.90 miles before unexpectedly passing away from an accident on her family’s farm.
Almost two years later, Kylie’s friends and family gathered at Generation Park on a Saturday morning - wearing matching white t-shirts - to participate in the inaugural “Run the Distance for Kylie” event.
“It is just incredible to see the turnout, the support, the donations, we are so thrilled to have this inaugural event that is our first run for Kylie in the month of her 17th birthday,” Kylie’s mother Amber McComb said. “Just out here with the public, the school being a part of it and being able to give back to students who were similar to Kylie and loved to run [is special].”
The run consisted of a 1K option and a run of 3.90 miles, which is slightly longer than your traditional 5K, to commemorate her final run.
Summer Creek cross country/track and field coach Elton Ervin helped organize and set up the inaugural race to help honor his former athlete.
“She was an avid runner and loved running,” Ervin said. “So, just to be able to bring everybody together is so touching and to be able to celebrate her life means a lot.”
Athletes from Summer Creek, Atascocita, Kingwood and Kingwood Park High School came out to run in the event.
Many reminisced about their friend, who they remember for her laugh, smile and sometimes even be a little giggly and making jokes on their runs.
“When we’d run, she’d never fail to make the run so funny,” Atascocita athlete Delaney Lopez, who ran with Kylie at West Lake Middle School, said. “I remember one time in Galveston we ran and we were only supposed to go for 45 minutes. We got distracted and started looking for seashells on the beach and we were gone for two hours. It was just so fun with her all the time.”
Along with the run, Kylie’s family has established the Kylie Pope Scholarship Foundation to award yearly scholarships at Summer Creek and Atascocita High School to athletes in the cross country and track and field programs.
As of Saturday morning, they had raised more than $19,000 with the number continuing to climb.
“I hope for the future that kids coming up in the cross country and track program that did not know her, will learn about her as we continue to give out these scholarships over the years,” Kylie’s father, Greg Pope, said. “Hopefully make it bigger than anything possible.”
Kylie Pope would have graduated from Summer Creek High School in May of 2024.
