Baltimore’s Track Hawks Run Club will embark on a relay run from Baltimore to Philadelphia on Saturday to raise money and awareness for Jeremiah Program Baltimore.
Jeremiah Program is a non-profit dedicated to supporting single mothers and their children as the mother works to earn a college degree.
Danielle Staton, executive director of Jeremiah Program Baltimore, shared that the relay to Philadelphia is the perfect fit for their organization.
“A relay is kind of a great analogy for kind of the timeline, the roadmap that our moms go through, so they’re sort of running this relay race of trying to earn a college degree while also being moms,” Staton said.
Runners will start at Baltimore City Hall at 6 a.m. Saturday, and the 24-hour event will conclude at Philadelphia City Hall.
The relay will consist of 14 runners split into teams, each completing a minimum of 13.1 miles or a half marathon. The total distance is about 143 miles.
Not every leg on the route is the same distance, and they range from five to 10 miles long. At the end of each leg, participants meet up with a van where the runners switch out.
Founded in Baltimore in 2024 by Justice Gray and Demetrius Kingston, Track Hawks Run Club aims to promote wellness and community through weekly runs, training groups and partnerships with like-minded organizations.
Royce Heramia, the run club’s logistics manager, shared that although she started running for exercise, it has become something more.
“It turned, for me, into a community and connecting me to people in a really powerful way,” she said.
Heramia said the club hopes this event will not only raise money and awareness for Jeremiah Program, but that it also “inspires people to see that movement can be meaningful.”
“Fitness and running isn’t just about running and for personal gain, but it’s also about using it as a platform and as an impact or to make an impact for others,” she said.
For those interested in donating or learning more about the event or either organization, click here.
