If you look closely, Kate Murphy is not at all sponsoring a page for her coach/massage therapist. The page has been set up by an alumni who also set one up for Sean McGorty's parents/coaches. The NoVA running community is very proud of Kate, Sean, Brandon and other's running in Oregon, and realize that their parents and coaches are actually teachers who don't exactly have the money to spare for an extended trip to Oregon.
Just a heads up about the cost....a round trip ticket from DC to Oregon is approximately $1000 per person, depending upon where/when you are flying into. Hotel rooms in Eugene are going for high rates due to the holiday weekend and the event in town, and are between $150-$200/night. With the assumption that they are going for the week (you don't know if Kate is running one round or two), you're probably looking another $1000 for hotel. Throw in rental car (another $500), and food for a week, and you are probably looking at $4000 easily. I don't know that the parent who set it up was necessarily doing the math in advance, but it is not a cheap trip. I also doubt that Coach Sherry is necessarily looking to get paid for his time there, rather, it is an honor to go to a meet of this level.
Just to put one more thing in perspective....if Kate's coach were to pay for this trip out of his own pocket (school's aren't paying for it), it would cost him in excess of what a head coach in Northern Virginia makes for the whole season. As such, if a supportive parent wants to help out the coaches, then it is too his credit, and not to Kate's detriment. It should actually say something about the Lake Braddock community that they have rallied to her/their support in this unique situation.