Great American Relay sets 565-mile 9/11 tribute route for 2026

The Great American Relay will hold its seventh annual seven-day run from Sept. 5-11, 2026, tracing major 9/11 memorial sites from Pennsylvania to New York. The event is raising money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation as America marks its 250th anniversary.

Why it matters: - The relay ties a large-scale endurance event to remembrance of the Sept. 11 attacks and support for families of fallen service members, injured veterans and first responders. - The route connects Flight 93 National Memorial, the Pentagon Memorial and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, making the tribute visible across multiple states and communities. - Funds raised will benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, expanding the event's impact beyond the run itself.

What happened: - The Great American Relay announced its 7th annual 565-mile, seven-day running relay for Sept. 5-11, 2026. - The event will start at Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and end at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. - Runners will pass through the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, during the route. - The event is being held during America's 250th anniversary and the 25th anniversary year of the 9/11 attacks.

The details: - The relay will support the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families. - The foundation also builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. - The foundation works to help eradicate veteran homelessness. - The event is open to runners of all abilities. - Participants can register for individual relay legs, form teams or volunteer along the route. - Organizers say the event will bring together runners, firefighters, law enforcement officers, military veterans, Gold Star families, civic leaders and local communities across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and New York. - Organizers are seeking individual runners, corporate sponsors, volunteer course marshals, community partners, and veteran and first responder organizations. - Registration, sponsorship, volunteer information and donations are available at Great American Relay.

Between the lines: - Race Director Vince Varallo said the relay is meant to honor the heroes who changed the nation after Sept. 11 and to underscore the link between American freedom and sacrifice. - The event is framed less as a competition and more as a public memorial and community mobilization effort. - The fundraising mission gives the relay a practical service component that can draw participants who want to support veterans and first responders, not just run.

What's next: - Organizers are recruiting runners, sponsors, volunteers and partner organizations ahead of the September 2026 start. - The relay will unfold over seven days from Sept. 5-11, with communities along the route expected to take part.

The bottom line: - The Great American Relay is positioning its 2026 run as both a 9/11 remembrance and a fundraising campaign tied to veterans, first responders and their families.