ST. AUGUSTINE - Not all college students want to party during Spring Break — some just want to run.
On March 16, sixteen runners from the Flagler College Cross-Country team will participate in the Second Annual Lionheart Relay, sacrificing their Spring Break for the chance to pour their sweat and tears into a 280-mile journey from Americus, Georgia to St. Augustine, Fla.
The breadth of this race is impossible to complete in one day. This year, the runners will make two overnight stops — one on March 16 in Moultrie, Georgia after running 80 miles, and again on March 17 in Lake City, Florida after running another 100 miles.
The runners will arrive back in St. Augustine on the evening of March 18 and finish their journey at the Bridge of Lions, which will provide ample opportunity for photos and interviews.
“We are so excited that the size of this year's relay makes it possible to see so many towns and cities,” said team co-captain and relay organizer
Alex Bonus. “More people will get to find out about the event which will hopefully translate into more support for our partner charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
Currently, runners are working to raise donations and gather resources for the event, including monetary contributions, food, gas and shelter for their overnight stays in Moultrie and Lake City.
The Flagler Cross-Country team created the Lionheart Relay last year to meet Flagler's annual community service requirement. Two runners were motivated to start it after viewing the documentary Hood to Coast, which features a similar relay. Brought from abstraction to execution in only one month, the first annual 186-mile Lionheart Relay met positive support and great success, raising $,3500 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This year, runners hope to raise more money than any other school in their athletic conference.
Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Florida. The college offers 24 majors, 29 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. The College joined the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference in 2009 and has since garnered a strong record of charitable donations to the conference's partner charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which works to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
For more information about the Lionheart Relay, or to schedule an interview with representatives from the team or from Flagler athletics, please contact cross-country co-captain
Alex Bonus at
JBonus@flagler.edu or at 717-222-1638.
Click here to download the donation form (PDF).
