DENVER — 26 miles in 13 hours, it was a lot to handle for a group of student-athletes who are not classified as "runners."
"None of us have ever run more than about two miles at a time, so it was tough for us," organizer Bryce Parsons said.
He and his sister Peyton gathered eight of their best friends from Regis Jesuit High School and Smoky Hill High School to organize their own home marathon for COVID-19 relief. The fundraiser, called 13 Hours against COVID-19, asked each athlete to perform 50 push-ups and run two miles each hour for 13 hours, until 26 miles and 650 push-ups were completed.
The morning of the race, Saturday April 18, the fund had already reached $2,500. Six days later, the group had raised nearly $1,000 more, with the goal set at $5,000.
"We were doing it for a cause and we were doing it to help people, because there's a lot of people struggling right now," Bryce Sloan said.
Peyton Parsons is used to running on the soccer field, but without that outlet, she said this was the next best thing.
"Even when it got hard, what was stuck in my head was I don't get to play soccer, we don't get to play our sports, so this is all we have right now," she said.
It's the little ways each one can give back and help, especially like Ty McGuire acknowledged, when some are more lucky than others.
"Knowing that we're helping others and doing our part in the community instead of just sitting around and moping during this quarantine, I think that was a huge motivation for all of us."
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