HANNIBAL, MO. -- Anna Thomas is an avid runner but this is her first time participating in the 8th annual St. Jude Run. She says she was nervous about the 135 mile run from Quincy to Peoria until she found out how it's run.
"You're not running it all in one spurt, you can take breaks, you can run as much or as little as you want and that's kind of comforting," Thomas said. "They tell you first off that it's not a running event, it's a fundraising event."
Which is good for runners to hear ... especially if they start in Hannibal, they have an additional 30 miles to go. For the past two years Hannibal has been part of the run. The 14 runners this year started in downtown Hannibal, went through Palmyra, then met up with more than 60 runners in Quincy.
"It's a great cause, it's great to see all the people raising money for the kids," Tom Redington, a Hannibal runner said.
Rick Meehan helped start the St. Jude Run from Quincy to Peoria and was one of the organizers to get Hannibal involved.
"Even though it's my eighth year you still get goosebumps, it's a very moving experience," Meehan said. "I've had many runners say this rates in the top 10 of their most life-moving experiences and that says a lot."
Thomas hopes to be one of those people.
"I think St. Jude is a great organization, a great hospital, everything they do is based on these fundraisers and donations so I'm pretty anxious and excited but probably more anxious than excited," Thomas said.
Each St. Jude runner needed to raise $750. 100 percent of that money will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and the Midwest Affiliate in Peoria.
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