Norwalk police run 25 miles in 25 hours to raise money for Tunnel to Towers on 9/11
To mark 25 years since 9/11, the Norwalk Police Benevolent Association hosted a memorial fundraiser run that saw participants run one mile at the top of every hour for 25 consecutive hours.
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Stride by stride, members of the Norwalk Police Department marked 25 years since 9/11 in their own way.
"We came up with running one mile every hour at the top of the hour for 25 consecutive hours, one for each year," said Sgt. Justin Bisceglie.
The goal was to raise as much money as possible for Tunnel to Towers.
"Each mile is dedicated to a person or a group," explained Bisceglie. "So, the 14 Norwalk residents that were killed on 9/11, we have one mile for each one of them. Then we have three hero miles--one for law enforcement, one for fire department, one for EMS, to recognize the three services that lost members each day."
Other miles were dedicated to personal connections officers had to people who were killed in the attacks or later died from 9/11 related illnesses. Bisceglie read a tribute to each before the group took off on that mile.
"It's affected all of us in some way," he stated.
The Norwalk Police Benevolent Association hosted the memorial run and partnered with local gym ATP Performance.
"For us, it was a simple yes, excited to give back in any form we can," said ATP Performance co-owner Drew Accomando.
They started running at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
"The response has been amazing. Everyone, when we're out there running, is honking, waving, yelling," Bisceglie told News 12.
The group then continued through the night, the morning, then the afternoon, wrapping up around 6 p.m. Friday. Some people grabbed naps on chairs or a hammock in between runs.
"A few extra miles will beat you up a bit with limited sleep, but with good supporting guys, it's always encouraging," Accomando said. "And being able to represent those that have lost their lives, it sort of makes it easy for us to digest and do another 10 minutes."
"It's really important to us to make sure that this doesn't ever fade away," stated Bisceglie.
To donate to the campaign, click here.
