Days ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, along with the commemorations, a group of runners are honoring the first responders and service members who made the ultimate sacrifice with sweat, sore muscles and hundreds of miles of pounding the pavement.
Nearly 50 runners gathered at the Pentagon Tuesday morning — the latest stop in their 485-mile journey from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 went down, to the Pentagon. They will end their run Friday in New York City.
“I think that it’s just going to be really emotional as we get a little bit closer. So hopefully the sweat and tears kind of mix and you can’t tell how much I cried during the run,” said Lauren Wild, who is active-duty Coast Guard, and ran the first leg out of the Pentagon parking lot.
James Stanley, a Navy veteran, carried the American flag and Tunnels to Towers flag for that first leg.
“I get to run it. It’s not a have to, I get to. It’s a privilege,” Stanley told WTOP.
The runners take turns in small groups running the entire distance, they run around 10 or so miles per day but many sign on to log even more distance during the interstate journey.
“We have people in legs of four or five, and they’ll get an opportunity to do as many miles as they want because we’re going to hit some hills today,” said Onofrio Margioni, a Naval officer and volunteer who is helping lead the run. “It’s a group effort. New York is still 285 miles away, and for those that started in Shanksville, my legs are killing me right now.”
Army Maj. Gen. Stephanie Howard joined the runners through D.C.
“I think this is just one small token of what you’ll see across the country, especially this year as the 25th anniversary,” Howard said. “We’re not going to forget.”
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was founded in the wake of 9/11 in honor of Brooklyn, New York, firefighter Stephen Siller. Siller had just gotten off his shift that morning and was heading to play golf when the first tower was hit. He turned his truck around and tried to make it through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, but it had already been closed. He took his 60 pounds of gear and ran to the twin towers from there. He died when the Towers collapsed, leaving behind a wife and five children.
Siller’s brother helped started the foundation, which purchases mortgage-free homes for the loved ones of fallen first responders and service members.
All in all, the group of 45 runners will log 485 miles throughout the week, bringing awareness and raising money for the foundation.
“The beauty of the run, though, is it allows us to go through these various towns and remind people and bring awareness to them of what happened 25 years ago,” Margioni said.
Source
