General Information
Daily Run America Updates During the Relay!

We are a group of friends who are going to run a relay from Tillamook, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts, in May and June of 2002. We will cover approximately 3,350 miles in 30 days, with each runner averaging just under 60 miles per week. We are doing this to raise money for research on a particular form of muscular dystrophy known as myotonic dystrophy, in honor of a friend who suffers from this disease. Myotonic dystrophy, also known as Steinert's disease, is an inherited disorder that affects about one in every 8000 people. In general, it results in muscle weakness and myotonia (an inability of muscles to relax after use), both of which get more severe over time. It can also lead to other problems, including cataracts and mental deficiency. It is an extremely variable condition with respect to its severity, the systems of the body it affects, and its age of onset, even within the same family. Right now, there is no cure for this disease and no significant treatment. If you would like to learn more about myotonic dystrophy, please click here.

Our goal in undertaking this project is to raise at least $250,000 (and hopefully significantly more than that) for research designed to find a cure for myotonic dystrophy. We hope the research we fund will also facilitate efforts to find a cure for other forms of muscular dystrophy.

A total of 39 runners have committed to relay. Generally speaking, 14 of these runners will be participating during each of the four segments of the run. The composition of the group of 14 will vary from segment to segment. Six runners will be taking part in all four of the segments, and thus will be involved from one coast to the other. The other slots will be apportioned among 33 other runners who wanted to participate, but who cannot dedicate four full weeks to the event. Four of these runners will be taking part in two segments, while the other 29 will run in one segment each. If you would like to learn more about the runners and the time periods during which each of them will be running, please click here.

The first segment of the relay will be from Tillamook, Oregon, to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This segment will take eight days, with the team leaving Tillamook on May 25, 2002, and arriving in Jackson Hole on June 1st. The next segment also will take eight days, during which we will cover the territory from Jackson Hole to Omaha, Nebraska. We will leave Jackson Hole on June 2nd and arrive in Omaha on June 9th. The last two segments are seven days each, with the third starting in Omaha on June 11th and ending in Painesville, Ohio (northeast of Cleveland) on
June 16th, and the last starting from Painesville on the 17th and ending in Boston, MA, on June 23rd. If you would like to learn more about either the course or the day-to-day itinerary, please click here.

Our basic game plan is that each runner will run all but one day during each segment in which he or she is involved. During the first segment, for example, this means that each runner will run for seven out of the eight days, with a rotating group of 12 runners (out of the 14) running each day. On each day that he or she is running, each runner will run two legs of approximately 5-miles each. In that manner, we as a team will average approximately 115 miles each day (with the exception of two light days of 37 and 26.2 miles). And, as mentioned above, each
individual runner will run close to 60 miles per week.

The team will be a little bigger during the final segment of the relay. One of our runners, Nick Burns, is going to share his “leg” with his nephew, Nick Hutchins, a high school student from North Carolina. Nick Hutchins is running to honor the memory of his brother Andrew Hutchins,
who died from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 1999. Additionally, a team of high school students will be joining us to collectively share a 15th “leg” during that week. This team will consist of three girls and two boys. The three girls will run 5 miles together each day, and the two boys will do the same.

As a group, we are far from world-class runners. We range in age from 14 to 60. Most of us run regularly, but two or three essentially started from scratch to prepare for this event. We are hoping to average under or close to 7 1/2 minutes per mile as a team. If you would like to learn
more about the runners and the time periods during which each of them will be running, please click here.

On the last day of the relay, the runners will conclude by covering the Boston Marathon course. Each runner will run as much (or as little) of the course as he or she pleases. Some of the runners are planning on running the entire course. Others will join that group en route. The
main idea, though, is that we will finish the course, and the relay, together. We are hoping to cover the course at approximately an 8:00 per mile pace.

Although he can no longer run, our friend, named Barry, is an active bicyclist. Barry is determined to bicycle with his sister Elizabeth for at least some portion of the miles that the team will be covering each day. Additionally, other friends may join along to make a bicycle relay
of sorts. The bicyclists will move at a different pace than the runners on a daily basis, but will cover the same number of miles per day (about 115, on average). If you would like to know more about Barry please click here.

All of the runners and bicyclists have made three commitments in signing up for this run. First, each participant has committed to raising a bare minimum of at least $1 per mile ($3,350) in pledges as a precondition to taking part in the relay, and to trying to go well beyond that by setting a personal fundraising goal of $10,000 in pledges. Second, each participant has committed to cover any and all of his or her expenses associated with the relay (except to the extent that some sponsors may offer to defray some of these expenses through either in-kind gifts or monetary contributions specifically earmarked toward expenses). This is to ensure that all sums raised through either per-mile or general contributions will in fact be dedicated solely to supporting the desired research efforts.

We (the runners and potential bicyclists) are actively seeking tax-deductible contributions toward funding the desired research efforts. We are also actively seeking corporate sponsors. If you would like to learn more about how you can contribute toward this effort, please click here. If you would like to see where we are in our fundraising efforts to date, please click here. If you would like to see our list of corporate sponsors, please click here

And finally, each participant has pledged to be in shape to cover the required miles without too much difficulty.

Thank you for visiting this site. If you would like the latest updates on this endeavor, please click here.