Cyclists Take On Relay From Pentagon to Flight 93 Memorial to Honor 9/11 Victims
On September 9, a two-day cycling relay began to commemorate and honor the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001.
The 9/11 Promise Ride started at the Pentagon and finished in Bedford, Pennsylvania, near the United 93 Memorial on Tuesday evening.
The tragedy of 9/11 changed our country in countless ways, and members of one relay are doing their part to make sure the victims will never be forgotten: They are cycling and running from the Pentagon to Ground Zero and United 93 Memorial sites to memorialize the events that took place and the lives lost.
The idea for the 9/11 Promise Run And Ride started in 2016 while founder and president Jennifer DePoto was training for a half Ironman. She had felt called to do something to remember the victims, but she didn’t know what. Then, something came to her.
“I come from a family of first responders and people in the military,” DePoto told Bicycling. “I’m a big believer that sports can be very healing and also unify people. So, I felt my heart getting called to help the greater good and take the gifts I have and raise money for charities.”
At first, only a run was born. It debuted the days before the 9/11 anniversary in 2016, with one team of seven people running the entire 240-mile distance from Washington, D.C., to New York City. That year, they raised money for two foundations: Tuesday’s Children and the FeelGood Foundation. Both organizations were born out of 9/11.
From there, the event grew. In 2017, the event brought in 27 runners from three teams who raised money for Operation Homefront, Hope for the Warriors, and the American Red Cross (for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas).
For last year’s relay, 65 people ran for Hope for the Warriors.
“As you look at it, in year one, we did charities right out of 9/11, then charities for the military, and then the future of our country last year,” DePoto said. “That really inspired us to create a nonprofit this year, so now all of the money we are raising is going to scholarships to the children of first responders and military who have either died or become injured (to include PTSD) and are not able to return to work.”
That is the goal this year as dozens of runners make the trek to raise $100,000 for the first batch of scholarships, which will be distributed for the 2020-21 school year.
In the relay, every team carries both a Flag of Honor—which contains the names of all those who perished in the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, United Airlines flights 175 and 93 and American Airlines flights 11 and 77—and a Flag of Heroes, which includes the names of the emergency services personnel who gave their lives so that others could live.
Teams also stop at firehouses along the route to thank first responders. In addition to the shared Ground Zero run, all runners also completed a 3-mile section in Philadelphia alongside a Philadelphia Fire Department escort with the department’s current recruiting class. The run ended at the firehouse near City Hall.
“The whole event is just incredible,” DePoto said. “More firehouses have gotten involved each year and more random communities have as well. As we hear every year, this is a life-changing experience for our runners.”
This year, the bike relay was added. Over two days—starting at 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning—17 cyclists covered 198 miles, relay style, switching whenever they wanted. They also stopped at firehouses along the way and arrived Tuesday night in Bedford, three miles from the United 93 Memorial.
The next morning, the group attended the anniversary ceremony at the site.
“We always wanted to honor Flight 93, but could never figure out how,” DePoto said. “Then, a couple of guys who ran it last year had the idea to bike it, so we have two events now going at the same time.”
The runners are still going as they make their way to New York City. Once all teams are assembled, they will run together to the memorial at Ground Zero. They plan to arrive there around 6:30 p.m.
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