MSU and UofM unite for annual Alex’s Great State Race
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - It’s rivalry weekend for Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, and while there is competition, the two schools are coming together for a great cause.
Alex’s Great State Race is celebrating its 12th year of raising money and awareness for disability support at both universities.
The event honors the life of Alex Powell, an MSU student who passed away from cancer in 2011.
Each year, ahead of the MSU–Michigan football game, the race begins on one campus and ends on the other. Members of the ROTC programs from each school run the game ball in a relay race that spans about 64 miles.
Since this year’s game is in East Lansing, the race started in Ann Arbor and will finish at MSU.
Allen Sheffield, who works at the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at MSU, says the race is a powerful way to unite both communities at a time when rivalry is at its peak.
“At a time when there’s so much dividing us, this is a powerful reminder that we are stronger together. Even within a rivalry as storied as MSU and U of M, there could be impactful partnership. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what was done for Alex and with Alex without the work of these two schools,” said Sheffied.
The race began at midnight on Friday, October 24, in Ann Arbor, and runners are expected to arrive in East Lansing around noon on Friday.
If you would like to donate to Alex’s Great State Race or track the runners’ progress, you can visit their official website.