Michelle was serving with the National Guard in Iraq alongside her sisters Rachel and Charity on April 9 when she was killed in an insurgent attack. The two surviving sisters decided against returning to Iraq after Michelle's funeral, but are supporting the Defense Department's homeland security missions in Wisconsin.

When Alex Estrella, a former Ranger who served in the first Gulf War, called up the Witmers' home in New Berlin, Wis., and told them about his plan to honor Michelle's memory, Lori was immensely touched by the gesture.

In her first interview since her daughters decided against returning to Iraq, Lori told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America the gesture prompted her to buy a plane ticket from Wisconsin to Florida to support Estrella, despite her almost paralyzing grief.

Running Four Days Without Sleep

It was a punishing run done non-stop over four days with a support teams of U.S. Army reservists running behind Estrella to provide him food and water. For the last few miles of the run, he crawled for a while and was then pushed across the finish line in a wheelchair.

But for the former military man who served with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne during Operation Desert Storm, it was well worth the effort.

"I was doing this for a very special woman, a woman that lost her life in an ambush," he told Good Morning America. "When I was in [Operation] Desert Storm … we were in and out really quick. And this time, compared to the situation, there's casualty list growing every day. This young woman had a full life ahead of her."

Michelle was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star medal and a Purple Heart for her service.

‘She Is a Hero’

More than five weeks since her daughter was killed in Iraq, Lori says she still suffers the physical ramifications of grief. "Some days, some minutes, I'm fine. Some hours I can talk and I can laugh. Others, I can't even hold my head up," she said sadly, before adding, "She was a hero. She is a hero."

During her time in Iraq, Michelle took time off from working as a military policewoman to help the orphans at the Missionaries of Charity in Baghdad.

Donations and contributions from Estrella's race will go toward a number of charities and caused supported by Michelle during her extraordinary life.

For Lori, it's heartwarming to see her daughter's memory being kept alive. While the Wisconsin mother did not take a stand in Rachel and Charity's decision not to return to Iraq, she's grateful to have her other two girls at home with her.

"I'm so comforted to know they are here," she said. "I can't imagine going through another year and another five weeks like I have just gone through."

The money raised will go to two charities:

   The Michelle Witmer Memorial Fund, Waukesha State Bank, 100 Bank St., P.O. Box 648, Waukesha, WI 53187-0648. Contributions will benefit the Missionaries of Charity Orphanage in Baghdad.

   Project ChildHelp, which helps orphaned and homeless children with physical and mental disabilities in the Dominican Republic.