DUBOIS, Pa. — The Penn State DuBois cross country program continues a tradition of excellence with new runners and a new season. This past weekend, two of the runners, Rebecca Maine and Nolan Fairman, participated in the 3rd Annual Pittsburgh Aruna Run.
Aruna races are sponsored by The Aruna Project, which is a non-profit organization that brings and sustains freedom through employment marked by holistic care to sexually exploited women in India. Each year thousands of runners across the U.S. participate in 5k runs to raise awareness and money to aid in the freedom process.
The continuous downpour and waterlogged shoes didn't deter the runners from rising to the challenge and supporting a great cause. Maine took 1st overall for the female runners, while Fairman took 3rd overall for the men.
"I was proud to run a race that supported such a great cause," said Maine. "Aruna made the run personal because they had you running for a particular woman in India currently suffering sexual exploitation. The donation total from the race goes directly towards liberating the women, whose names were actually given to us. The race itself was tough because of the storm that passed through, but it was nothing compared to what the women we ran for are going through. The race brought perspective to everyone who ran."
The Penn State DuBois cross country runners will be getting back to some hard training before their first conference meet at Penn State Greater Allegheny on Sept. 16.