On Sunday, September 30 at exactly 7:00 a.m., more than 225 men and women from several neighboring states are expected to participate in the Second Annual Delaware Memorial Bridge Run to Acceptance for Special Olympics. For this special 5k run across the iconic span, three of the four lanes on the northbound span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge will close for approximately three hours early Sunday morning.
“Last year’s event was such a tremendous success with more than $34,000 raised for Special Olympics Delaware,” said Tom Cook, Executive Director of the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA). “For the Authority, we have the opportunity to help a great community organization raise money to further their mission goals. For participants, it’s an opportunity to do something not many get a chance to do – walk or run on the Delaware Memorial Bridge.”
“We are honored to have the opportunity to host a second Bridge Run and partner with the Delaware River and Bay Authority,” said Ann Grunert, Executive Director of Special Olympics Delaware. “During the past year of evaluating the first event and planning for the second, we’ve been overwhelmed by their support and appreciative of them keeping the mission of our organization and those who we serve at the forefront of this iconic event.”
The “Delaware Memorial Bridge Run to Acceptance for Special Olympics” 5K will take place on the New Jersey-bound span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. On Sunday, September 30, 2018, three lanes will be closed to traffic at 5:00 a.m. The benefit run will start at 7:00 a.m. All lanes will re-open to traffic at 8:30 a.m. The participants will begin their 3.1 mile run at the New Jersey x-ramp; onto the New Jersey bound span heading south into Delaware; onto the Delaware x-ramp and then through the DRBA complex parking area to the finish near the maintenance garages. A recognition program will take place following the event at the Bridge’s Veterans Memorial Park.
Motorists heading north on the New Jersey – bound span may encounter minor delays during the early morning hours of Sunday, September 30. Motorists heading south on the Delaware –bound span will not be affected by the 5K benefit run.
Cook noted that the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Special Olympics also have something else in common. “In 1968, the first Special Olympics were held at Chicago’s Soldier Field, with more than a thousand athletes with intellectual disabilities competing in 200 events,” Cook said. “That same year, the Twin Span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge was completed and opened to the traveling public, a milestone we recently celebrated.”
Source: DRBA