The race is named after Officer Molly Suzanne Thomas Bowden who was mortally wounded while conducting a routine traffic stop on the night of January 10, 2005 in Columbia, Missouri. Molly passed away on February 10, 2005 at the age of 26 years old. She had been on the Columbia Police force for over three years and was the first Columbia Police officer killed in the line of duty.
The slogan for this race is "In Honor of the Survivors," and focuses on the surviving families and affected co-workers of Missouri law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.