St. Jude Run Leaves Quincy Today

The 12th Annual St. Jude Run will take place today in Quincy and end up in the Peoria Civic Center tomorrow. Every year, runners, drivers and volunteers from Quincy and the surrounding areas participate in a 135 mile, relay style event that raises funds and awareness for St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis. The runners will gather at the Kroc Center in Quincy at 1 p.m. today and begin the journey shortly thereafter. All participants are asked to raise $1000 and dedicate the weekend to make the trek to Peoria to present the Quincy donation to the St. Jude Children's Hospital.

The Quincy leg of the St. Jude Run was started in 2005 by Brothers Rick and Randy Meehan and has raised almost $1,000,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since the inception in 2005. This year's run coordinators are Brittany Vermeire and Megan Crawford.

Each year anywhere from 70 to 100 runners and volunteers leave from downtown Quincy on the 24 hour,135 mile journey from Quincy to Peoria! The Quincy Run is one of over 35 towns that participate in the St. Jude Run.

Half way through the run the town of Astoria, Illinois traditionally welcomes the runners with open arms (around 4 a.m.) allowing the runners to eat breakfast, shower, fuel up and head on their way!

It’s all for the kids, so hats off to all the people involved with today's St. Jude Run from Quincy.