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Indiana Run for the Fallen preparing to take off

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Organizers of the eighth annual Indiana Run for the Fallen are preparing to take off.

The three-day, 140-mile run, which stretches from Allen County to Marion County, will pay tribute to Indiana service members who died while serving, or as a result of serving, between Oct. 12, 2000, and the present.

Participants will begin the event Friday morning at the Allen County War Memorial and run until they reach Freedom Park in Portland.

Organizer Don Finnegan tells News 8 there will be three teams of about 20 runners followed by RVs.

Each team will run a mile and then stop at the mile marker, ‘hero marker,’ and names of the fallen will be called, including their rank, date of death, branch, and service. Then runners will stop and salute.

Finnegan says 546 names will be called throughout the run and that unknown fallen service members will also be honored.

Gold Star families, the relatives of military members who died while on active duty service, will attend the event to show their support.

“It’s a matter of being a patriot and just trying to give back in the sense that these families aren’t forgotten. That’s the key,” Finnegan said. “It’s all about the families here. We can complain all we want, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about these families that sacrificed a lot just so we can have these beautiful days that we do.”

The run will end Sunday when participants reach Veterans Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis at around 1 p.m. Sunday.

This event will be livestreamed on the Indiana Run for the Fallen Facebook page for those who can’t attend.

For more information, visit the Indiana Run for the Fallen website.