A Hardeman County lawman is lacing up for a fourth straight year at the St. Jude Marathon Memphis Weekend. Rochard Weaver, recently promoted to captain with the Whiteville Police Department, is training to run again this December and raise money for the Memphis hospital that treated his daughter, according to a profile published Wednesday by The Magnolia Post.
Weaver has set a personal fundraising goal of $750 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Donations are tax-deductible.
Why He Runs the St. Jude Marathon
For Weaver, the race is personal. His daughter was treated at St. Jude for brain cavernomas, and he said the family never had to worry about the cost of her care. He now runs so other families can feel that same relief.
“Running for St. Jude is personal,” Weaver told The Magnolia Post. He described the race as his way of giving back to the hospital that helped his daughter.
The St. Jude Marathon Memphis Weekend is held each year on the first full weekend in December. Weaver said there is never any question about where he will be that weekend.
From Bolivar Central to the Police Department
Running has been part of Weaver’s life for about 25 years. Highlights of his path include:
Running cross country and track and field at Bolivar Central High School
Earning a cross-country scholarship to Bethel University in 2005
Running the St. Jude Marathon Memphis Weekend for the fourth year in a row in 2026
A recent promotion to captain with the Whiteville Police Department
His police job requires him to meet physical fitness standards, and he brings the same discipline to marathon training. Weaver works with a running coach who builds the St. Jude race into a larger schedule. He has several other races planned before December. His approach is to stay consistent, trust the plan, and arrive in Memphis ready to run.
Moments That Keep Him Coming Back
Weaver said he looks forward most to the spirit of the race: the people, the energy, and the sense of everyone coming together for one cause. Every runner beside him on the course is raising money for St. Jude families.
He recalled one moment from last year’s race. A stranger whose daughter had been helped by St. Jude stopped his friend, Jennifer Marcum, on the course to thank her for running. The two hugged and cried together. Weaver said the moment showed how much the race means to the families the hospital serves.
How to Support Local St. Jude Runners
Readers who want to support Weaver can donate through the fundraising link included in The Magnolia Post’s profile. Families in Middleton, Bolivar, Whiteville, and across Hardeman County, as well as in nearby Tippah and Benton counties in Mississippi, have long relied on St. Jude, which is about an hour’s drive west in Memphis.
Do you know a Tippah County, Benton County, or Hardeman County runner taking part in the St. Jude Marathon this year? Let Tippah News know so we can share their story too.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
