The photo showed Emily Markert with her uncles, Larry and Don Fitzgerald, after a trip back from Rochester, Minnesota. It was the 14-year anniversary of her last successful double lung transplant.

They were exhausted that night, her mother said, even though her picture did not document any visible signs of exhaustion.

Now, runners and walkers carry her legacy annually –some of them no doubt exhausted after a 5K — and remember her by encouraging others to give the gift of life by being organ donors.

“Her amazing strength and warm smile will never be forgotten,” her obituary five years ago read.

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
A framed photo shows Angie Anderson, right, standing with her brother, Jeff Chambers, after he received her kidney in 2006. Anderson's story is one of a few from living organ donors that runners will hear during the Emily’s Fight run in August.

This August marks the fifth anniversary of her passing, and the sixth year since she dedicated the remainder of her life to planning an annual event for organ donation awareness. She died just days before the first event was scheduled.

“Spending time on this project is going to help myself and my family get through this time,” Liz Markert said, after detailing a few of her daughter’s favorite songs that runners can look forward to on Aug. 3. “Our minds are concentrating on what she wanted most in life, so this helps tremendously.”

This year, new voices will be heard too, in between songs from OneRepublic and Alicia Keys. They’re the voices that have given life as living kidney donors.

“The thought was that if I can gather those women with me, to be in the picture, people can see these healthy people who have donated and see that it’s possible,” Liz Markert said.

Samantha Reeves, Angie Anderson and Tami Fitzgerald Davis all have pitched in to share their stories this year.

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
A framed photo shows kidney donor Samantha Reeves with her father, Terry Wingerton, in 2015. The living organ donor’s story is one that will be shared with runners at Emily’s Fight in August.

Anderson helped her older brother with polycystic kidney disease. His body rejected a few kidneys during the course of his childhood.

So the moment she turned 18, she donated one of hers.

After the successful transplant in 2006, he told her that he rejected a kidney he was matched for, from a deceased donor, right before she was able to confirm she was a match.

“He told them he felt mine would match,” she said — a bold move, but one of faith that has given him life for the last 13 years, giving him the chance to do things his family never thought he could thanks to his sister’s gift.

“Emily is a perfect example of how to live life with faith in your heart,” Emily’s obituary also read.

On average, 22 people die each day from a lack of organs available for transplant.

That’s why Davis decided to give the gift of life, even to someone she didn’t know.

“That’s me, I can do that,” she exclaimed when she became aware of a northwest Iowa woman needing her O-type blood kidney.

The woman ultimately could not accept due to heart complications, but Davis pressed on to find another donor. She gave her kidney to Maria Jimenez, a Minnesota mother who had been on dialysis for years after early-onset diabetes had damaged her organs.

“Every time she speaks with me, I’m her ‘angel on earth,'” said Davis, a 34-year registered nurse.

But Davis and Liz Markert disagree on something– whether organ donors like her are a “miracle worker.”

“I don’t like to call myself a miracle worker,” Davis said. “Why would you not (donate an organ)? I’m so perplexed why there’s so many on that waiting list.”

“You don’t take life for granted,” Liz Markert has learned from all the stories she has encountered from lives touched by the issue over the years since Emily’s passing.

She hopes the event serves as not only a chance for those running on Emily’s old stomping grounds to do what Emily loved best, but to serve as an opportunity to heal from loss, share stories, ease their pain and share laughter.

“In the midst of tragedy, you have hope,” Liz Markert said, a thread that runs through the legacy left by Emily Markert and those who give the gift of life after death. “(Emily’s) legacy has really inspired others to do the best they can.”

Runners and walkers can participate in Emily’s Fight: Donate Life on Aug. 3 at Floral Hall on Main Street in Manson. Participants can register online at getmeregistered.com/emilymarkerts5k, or starting at 7 a.m. at the event. A tribute to Emily will be held at 8:15, before the race begins at 8:30.

Raffle tickets at $2 will also be available for a variety of baskets or a personalized bench from Fitzgerald Welding. Proceeds from the charity event will benefit the Iowa Donor Network.

Emily’s Fight: Donate Life

What: 5K Run/walk

When:  Aug. 3, 7 a.m. registration, 8:15 tribute, 8:30 run

Where: Floral Hall, Main Street, Manson

Registration fee: $25

To register: Go to getmeregistered.com/emilymarkerts5k or at 7 a.m. the day of the run

Raffle tickets may be purchased for $2 for a variety of baskets or a personalized bench from Fitzgerald Welding the day of the event.

* Proceeds go to the Iowa Donor Network