Summer Smith died of a drug overdose on Jan. 9, 2015. She was 31.

Her mother wants to stop the stigma that comes with drug addiction. She is organizing a May 14 race to honor Summer Smith and keep her legacy alive.

The 5-kilometer race will start at 9 a.m. at Guilderland High School, from which Smith had graduated.

“Her life is worth so much more than how it ended up,” her mother, Kristin Smith-Hoin, told The Enterprise earlier as she shared the story of her daughter’s life. “If there’s one child that could be helped by this, then it’s worthwhile to tell the story.”

Smith was deeply wounded by sexual abuse in her childhood, her mother said, repeatedly assaulted by someone she should have been able to trust.

“She never could love herself,” said her mother, and she turned to drugs to fill the void.

“A lot of times, addicts are covering up pain,” said Smith-Hoins. “There’s such a stigma,” she said of drug addiction. It’s not just in the city. It’s here in Guilderland.”

Smith was in and out of jail on drug-related infractions and spent time living on the street. She wrote a poem that said of drugs, “I’ll be your god. I’ll take your family.”

She turned her life around in her last year, her family said, as part of the Schenectady Drug Court program. Instead of being jailed, people with non-violent crimes attend meetings, receive court-mandated treatment, and undergo regular drug tests.

“For the first time since she lost her apartment in 2012, she had a room she could call her own,” said her mother. Smith lived at the YMCA in Schenectady.

In her last year, Smith trained to run a 5K race as part of a program for survivors of domestic violence.

Before Smith ran in the Jingle Bells Run, Smith-Hoin “bent down and put jingle bells on her running shoes,” she recalled. Through tears, she said, “My best last memory was putting those bells on her feet and being so proud when she crossed the finish line.”

Smith-Hoins has since become a runner herself. “What it gives us was what it gave Summer — empowerment and the ability to get through something you don’t think you can. It gets me through — thinking of Summer running and laughing with this group.”

An energetic and organized woman — Smith-Hoins is a nurse who manages a home health-care agency — she has spent months organizing the 5K run for May 14. She set a goal of $5,000 to raise to host the race.

“We wanted a certified course to draw those with a serious interest in running, so you have to pay for a timing company,” said Smith-Hoins, explaining a big chunk of the expenses. Money is also being spent on shirts to give the runners.

Donations are tax-deductible, being run through the Schenectady Y. “Anything extra, we’re going to donate,” she said.

In addition to the competitive 5K run, there will also be a walk.

Smith-Hoins is eager to get the word out now so newcomers to the sport have time to train.

“Summer was in a couch-to-5K program. It takes about nine weeks,” Smith-Hoins said of the training.

Lauren Trunko, of the Schenectady YWCA, captured the spirit of Summer Smith’s first and last run with words she wrote in a book of memories for Smith’s children.

“Her and I, side by side, pushing through the pain, the rain, and freezing cold wind on our faces,” Trunko wrote. “She pushed me and I pushed her. Especially as we approached the finish line!

“One step at a time, one foot in front of the other until we reached the finish line. Such is life, when you don’t know what else to do and aren’t sure you can go on, just put one foot in front of the other, feel the cool breeze on your face and think of your mom — you will reach the finish line.”