With a mission to honor the life of a “true local hero,” Michael A. “Pud” Padula, the Ithaca Police Department and the Tompkins County community came together yesterday for the Fourth Annual “Pud’s Run” Memorial Road Race held at Stewart Park.
Padula, an eighteen-year police investigator, was, according to former state trooper, Linda Martin, “the type of guy who felt a real duty towards his work and would regularly put himself in harm’s way to protect and serve.” Padula was tragically killed in the line of duty on November 17, 1996.
The idea for a remembrance race was developed by Linda Martin and her husband, also Padula’s former partner, Doug Martin. As runners themselves, the Martins were inspired by the “Police Pursuit”