Want to run 50 miles in 12 hours and support veterans? This event is for you.
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IDAHO FALLS — Running during the middle of an Idaho January night might sound like a crazy idea but for one local man, that’s not how he sees it.
Dan Beck of Idaho Falls is hosting a free event for its third year known as The Long Night Run. As part of it, he’s putting on a fundraiser to show support Coming Home Incorporated – a local nonprofit organization that helps veterans.
Starting Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., anybody interested in participating in The Long Night Run will run, walk or cross country ski 4.166 miles every hour — or fewer miles, depending on the individual’s preference and capabilities — on the hour for 12 hours for a total of 50 miles. The event wraps up on Jan. 18 at 8 a.m.
“(The Long Night) symbolizes the struggle that a veteran or someone with PTSD or depression is facing,” Beck told EastIdahoNews.com. “They feel alone, it’s dark, it’s long, but having people who can support them and help them in small ways or big ways, they don’t have to be alone all night, and they can make it to the next sunrise.”
Beck, whose brother is a veteran and who had friends who have committed suicide, says the goal is that nobody runs alone that night.
“It’s very informal,” according to Beck. “You don’t have to sign up. You just show up.”
Oliane Scott runs Coming Home Incorporated in honor of her brother, Ben Gomm, who was in the Army National Guard and did a tour in Iraq. After coming home, he struggled with PTSD for several years and died by suicide on Jan. 18, 2018.
“I think as a general population, we think, ‘Yay, they are home. We’re done supporting them because they are home. They made it,’ but on the homefront is really where they need most of their support,” Scott says.
Coming Home Incorporated puts on monthly social events, provides free house cleaning for disabled and elderly veterans and offers free PTSD treatment. Most of the funds they’ll receive from Beck’s fundraiser will go towards PTSD treatment, according to Scott.
“It takes so much to let these guys know that they are loved and supported. They don’t see all the faces of the people who care and who give, but they need to know that our community is full of people who care about them and their sacrifice,” she says. “It’s important to me that they don’t just feel supported by an organization, but they feel supported by our entire community.”
Last year, Beck’s fundraiser raised over $1,000. This year Beck says the goal is to collect over $2,000 for the organization, and Thursday afternoon, they were nearing $1,500 on Facebook.
“There are people, not just from here but other places, where they can’t make it (to The Long Night event), but they can still be part of it by donating,” Beck mentioned. “If you don’t have money to donate, you can still be part of it by sharing the event (on Facebook) and letting other people know.”
For more information about the event, visit Idaho Falls Trail Runner’s Facebook page and click events. Donations can be made by clicking here.
A route won’t be finalized until closer to the day of the event, but the Veterans War Memorial located along the Idaho Falls River Walk will be the start point every hour at the top of the hour.
Coming Home Incorporated will provide chips, pickles, apple cider and chicken broth at the run.
Due to COVID-19, Beck asks people to please bring a mask to wear for when you might be standing around.
