The Rivalry Run

Muck Fichigan. Ann Arbor is a "loose woman." We don't give a damn.... You know the drill. Now, I'm as anti-Michigan as they get. I've got a different shirt for every day of the week. I don't mess around when it comes to OSU football, especially not for OSU vs. that state up north.

In spite of all the rivalry hatred this week, some good does come of this week. This good comes through the chapters of Phi Gamma Delta at both Ohio State and Michigan and our annual Rivalry Run. We started our annual rivalry run six years ago to honor two men, Rick Smudz ('75) of Ohio State and Jeff Chiambretti ('05) of Michigan. These two men dedicated themselves to rechartering the chapters to their respective schools, both of which were shut down in the late 1990's. Both men suffered from cancer. Jeff was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 17. Rick lost his battle to cancer in 2002. The Michigan chapter of FIJI raises money for the American Cancer Society. Our chapter raises funds for the Stefanie Spielman Fund. Each chapter has already individually raised about $12,000 for their respective philanthropies.

Here is a video from the Stefanie Spielman Fund. For those avid followers, I know I posted it before, but I just love this video.

The Rivalry Run itself is exactly what it sounds like. Because the game is at Ohio State this year, the Michigan chapter of FIJI starts at their stadium and runs a game ball all the way to the state line. Then the Ohio State chapter receives the ball at the state line and continues running it to the Shoe. The Rivalry Run is something that is very common among FIJI chapters throughout the nation including Wisconsin/Minnesota, Western Kentucky, University of Virginia/Virginia Tech, University of Georgia/Georgia Tech, and Kansas State/University of Kansas to name a few. I love this concept because I think it is a great way for us to step outside of the rivalry and remember that we can come together with our brothers in order to help the communities that support us.


We normally hold the run starting on the Friday before the game and continue through Saturday. However, because of Thanksgiving this year, we actually ran the ball this past Sunday through Monday. This is a total of 186 miles and takes about 30 hours to run. We run the ball in relay style, passing it off to another brother every half mile. This philanthropy event is very unique and is a great way that helps to bond different chapters of FIJI. I look forward to the run every year because there is nothing else like it. If your chapter has the ability, I would encourage you to find something that you can do with chapters at other schools. It's a great experience.

Continue the fight. Continue her fight.
therivalryrun.com
spielmanfund.com