Inspired

I was driving home from a night of hanging out with some friends when about a  mile away I noticed flashing lights and cars moving into the left lane as if they were directed to. As I got closer I realized there was a vehicle moving at a rather slow place for a road with a 40 mph speed limit. Closer yet I realized a couple bicycles in front of the cars...odd... and in front of the bicycles a couple of runners. after I passed the convoy of runner/cylcist/vans I saw another group a little ways up the road, and I also started to notice the increased police escort that these runners/cyclists were getting. Now I'm intrigued so I circled the block to get a better look. When I got back to the main st. they were running along I sat back a bit from the cross walk (since I noticed a couple of runners nearing the intersection) I put my window down to try and hear but nothing was being said, just the familiar sound of pitter patter on the pavement. Now keep in mind that this is just after midnight, so I was rather shocked to see what appeared to be a long distance relay race taking place. I say relay race because I noticed the batons in the runners hands as they waved at me when crossing the street in their bright yellow shirts. At this moment I was well beyond intrigued and I was excited! A relay race at midnight! Presumeably across at least the state of Michigan with police and bicycle escort! Call me a nerd but I think that's awesome and it made me excited, I had to know more. So I called my best friend who happens to be a city police officer and on duty tonight. Seeing as how they had a police escort he surely would have some idea of what was going on. No such luck, they hadn't heard anything about it, apparently only campus police and township coppers were in the know. Curiousity running wild when I got home I had to know what was going on so I googled a few things and finally found some results! It is a relay across the state of Michigan that began this morning in Detroit and ends in South Haven, Michigan and is a fund raiser for Girls on the Run. How cool is that! A relay across the state, in less than 24 hours! I'm not 100% on the details of who but it looks like running clubs from University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Central Michigan University are behind it. Last year they completed the 181 mile journey in just under 23 hours and 20 minutes.

I think this is a pretty awesome idea and a great charity to raise money for so I thought I would pass it along. The website with all the information is http://mrun.clubrunning.org/ram.html I think it is a very awesome thing they are doing and I would love to be a part of it. It looks like each runner is covering distances between 10 and 15 miles. I will definitely be looking into this for next year to see if there is a way I can get involved more than just by making a monetary donation. It seems like a great cause and a lot of fun. Congrats and thanks to those who have given their time and efforts to make this possible.