Why This Group of Relay Runners Wants You to Run Exactly three.21 Miles Today
March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, and to kick it off, a team of 21 runners with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) ran a Ragnar-fashion relay from Washington, D.C., to New York City. The runners commenced their trek on March 19 at 6 a.m. on the U.S. Capitol’s stairs and finished today at the United Nations Headquarters.
One of those runners, Gina Mannion, participated in the relay to assist her oldest daughter, who was born with Down syndrome. Mannion, who ran over forty miles every week to prepare, told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette that going for walks has been a way for her to generate electricity while logging some much-wanted quiet time.
“I’m walking in honor of my daughter who has Down syndrome and for the mission,” Mannion said in an assertion.
The relay runners included over 250 miles of their journey. But the day isn’t over—you may be a part of it, too, although you may log a lot of mileage.
In reality, the organizers’ amount encouraging you to run is much more manageable: three.21 miles. That wide variety comes from trisomy 21, the presence of 3 #21 chromosomes, as opposed to. People with Down syndrome have that extra chromosome.
To help increase attention for the Down syndrome network, the NDSS is hosting the digital Racing for 3.21 event today on its website. People can stroll, run, ride motorcycles, hike, swim, or move in any manner they can for 3.21 miles to help have a good time on World Down Syndrome Day.
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“Run for 3.21, together with its virtual associate event, Racing for 3.21, is possibly our most powerful grassroots advocacy movement main up to World Down Syndrome Day. Through the run, we will celebrate the accomplishments and abilities of people with Down syndrome, at the same time as continuing to work in the direction of a global of further opportunities and attractiveness for all,” NDSS senior VP of philanthropy, outreach, and events Kandi Pickard said in a press launch.