UK Air Force ROTC to run nearly 30 miles for veterans, POW/MIA
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2024) — This Saturday, the University of Kentucky Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) Detachment 290 will remember and honor veterans and service personnel who are or were prisoners of war and/or missing in action (POW/MIA) through the revival of the POW/MIA run across Central Kentucky.
The student-led run is set to begin 6 a.m. Nov. 9, at UK’s Buell Armory. Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton will speak just before the run begins. Participants will then run approximately 29 miles to the Vietnam War Memorial in Frankfort.
More than 100 cadets and cadre are expected to participate.
"This run is not just a personal challenge for all of us out here today, it is a way to remind others of the scarifies made by our veterans and the continuing struggle of those who have not yet come home,” said Cadet Eden Salyers, a senior engineering major, who is helping to organize the event. “We carry the American flag with us to represent the freedom that every uniformed service member has fought and will fight for and we carry the POW/MIA flag to honor the legacy of those still unaccounted for and ensure that their stories are never forgotten.”
All participants will run the first and last two miles, with most relaying and running many more. Water and resting station checkpoints will be located every three miles along the route and state police will be on site to escort the runners.
The runners will display the U.S. and POW/MIA flags during the run and will conclude the event by laying a wreath at the Vietnam Memorial when they arrive between 11 a.m. and noon EST, to honor service members and their sacrifice.
The community is invited to come out and cheer on the runners and honor veterans at the various checkpoints. See the attached map for location and expected times.
“The Air Force ROTC program is continuing the tradition of this run because it is an important event to honor the Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) that sacrificed so much for America; their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Sullivan, commander of the program. “It is also an important leadership lesson for the Air Force ROTC cadets. It teaches them that we are serving our nation and a cause that is bigger than ourselves and more important than selfish ambition. They build camaraderie while they push themselves to run farther than most of them have in the past.”
More than 80,000 American service personnel are missing from previous conflicts and the POW/MIA Agency remains relentless in its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting to their families and the nation until they’re home.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.