Nineteen students left San Francisco on June 17 on a 4,000-plus mile cross-country run to Baltimore. They slept in beds for the first time Thursday night.
The University of Illinois Springfield is currently home base for Team Baltimore, a group of college-aged runners who are raising money for young adults diagnosed with cancer. They are running in a relay-style format across the country in a program called 4K for Cancer. Runners are between the ages of 18 and 25. Three or four run at a time and each averages 12-14 miles per day.
Team Baltimore departed Hannibal, Missouri for Springfield on Thursday morning. En route, it encountered stormy weather. The weather delay forced them to shuttle to a location, they then ran the rest of the way. Around 3 p.m., two male and two female runners made their way onto the UIS campus via W. Lake Shore Dr. They met the rest of the team at a residence hall. After unpacking their belongings from support vans, some runners snacked and lounged, while others ran around campus putting in the miles they were unable to get in earlier due to the weather.
UIS is providing Team Baltimore with complimentary lodging and laundry service and has offered meals. The Springfield Road Runners Club is also providing food.
This article appeared in the State Journal-Register on July 20, 2018.
