RIT Runners Will Cross Mississippi River on Thanksgiving Day

A group of runners from Rochester Institute of Technology in the midst of a cross-country relay run will spend Thanksgiving crossing the Mississippi River. On Thursday, Nov. 25, they'll travel through Vienna, Mo., (south of Jefferson City), St. Louis, Mo., and into Capitol Oaks, Ill.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, they'll travel through Illinois, into Indiana and will reach Cincinnati, Ohio, by noon on Nov. 27. By Sunday, Nov. 28, they'll travel into West Virginia.

Eighteen runners are trekking across the United States in a 2,730-mile continuous relay run in commemoration of RIT's 175th anniversary. The run kicked off on Nov. 17 near San Diego, Calif., at the Pacific Ocean and ends on Nov. 29 in Annapolis, Md.,—two days ahead of schedule.

The 1979 coast-to-coast run, celebrating RIT's 150th Anniversary was completed in 14 days, 4 hours, and 8 minutes, which at the time was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Each runner—a member or alumni of the RIT men's and women's cross country team-completes a two-mile interval, then rests for 3.5 hours before joining the relay again.

The cross country trek began at La Jolla Shores beach, at sea level, and continues across the continent, through Phoenix, Ariz., Albuquerque, N.M., Amarillo, Texas, Topeka, Kan., under the Gateway to the West in St. Louis, Miss., Cincinnati, Ohio, to Arlington National Cemetery and past the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The run finishes at the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park outside of Annapolis, Md.

To stay updated on the runners' progress, read their blog and view photos, visit www.ritcoasttocoastrun.com. To get in touch with the team, contact Todd Spivak, on-the-road media contact, at 845-797-9608.

Numbers behind the run:

  • 18 runners: 16 men, 2 women
  • Runners will spend Thanksgiving on the road, running through St. Louis, Mo.
  • Each runner runs two miles at a time
  • Runners will average 14 minutes for their two-mile segment
  • Rest time between runs is about 3.5 hours
  • Each runner will complete about 6 runs and 12 miles per day
  • The distance for each runner is 85 miles per week, 170 miles total for the trip
  • The team will travel through 13 states and the District of Columbia
  • The runners will sleep in two RVs that will travel along the route

Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized as a leader in computing, engineering, imaging technology, fine and applied arts, and education of the deaf. More than 15,300 full- and part-time students are enrolled in RIT's 340 career-oriented and professional programs, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For well over a decade, U.S. News and World Report has ranked RIT among the nation's leading comprehensive universities. The Princeton Review recognizes RIT as one of America's “Most Wired Campuses,” and the university is also featured in The Fiske Guide to Colleges and Barron's Best Buys in Education.


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