Coast to coast: Runner expected to arrive in McKean County next week
Cross country runner
Photo submitted
Aprylle Gilbert is on a 3,652-mile journey across the country, part of a “Coast to Coast for Kids” campaign to raise money for disadvantaged children. She is expected to arrive in McKean County on Wednesday.
Posted: Saturday, August 15, 2015 10:00 am
Aprylle Gilbert is on a mission to run 3,652 miles across the country on U.S. Route 6, and is expected to arrive in McKean County on Wednesday.
Her “Coast to Coast for Kids” campaign is an effort to raise money for programs geared toward disadvantaged children in San Jose, Calif.
“Having runners on Pennsylvania Route 6 is a positive press image for our region,” said Linda Devlin, executive director of the Bradford-based Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. “It helps to raise awareness of their cause, and since our marketing brand for McKean County is ‘Trail Central’ we always appreciate having runners, bikers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts in the McKean County area.”
Gilbert, a long-distance runner and professional musician, began her journey May 11 from Long Beach, Calif., and is heading to Provincetown, Mass., which is at the tip of Cape Cod.
Each day, Gilbert has been running 30 to 40 miles along U.S. Route 6, and she is due to cross the Pennsylvania border from Ohio on Sunday.
By Wednesday evening, she should be in Kane, according to her schedule.
The next day Gilbert is due in Smethport. Plans are in motion for people to walk with her along Route 6, according to Claudia Caminite of the ANF Visitors Bureau and an official with the Potato Creek Trail Association.
That’s the kind of support that Gilbert wants to see. In a statement on her website, Gilbert said she wants to reach out to communities during her trek, invite them to be part of the movement and run with her.
Meanwhile, on Thursday night, Gilbert will spend the evening at Inn on Maple Street in Port Allegany. On Friday, she will reach Coudersport and arrive in Galeton that night.
“We would like to show Aprylle how excited we are to welcome her to PA,” said PA Route 6 Alliance Jennifer Rossman in an e-mail. “Thus far, Aprylle has had police and fire escorts arranged for her, mayors, commissioners and other local government persons welcome her into their towns, counties, and regions. We want Aprylle to know how friendly and welcoming we are in PA but we need your help.”
In the past, Route 6 has been the site of long-distance walkers — a writer and most recently a blogger, but Devlin doesn’t remember there being a runner.
For Gilbert, she will be accomplishing a dream of running from coast to coast.
“I am hoping my run will develop connections and build a network for community activism. I want to encourage young people to make health and fitness a priority and inspire them to dream big,” she said.
For more information on the “Coast to Coast for Kids” campaign, see www.aprylle.com.
