"THESE ARE THE TIMES THAT TRY RUNNER'S SOULS"

Steeped in NJ history is the story of George Washington's loss at Fort Lee and his retreat of 75 miles from Fort Lee to McConkey's Ferry to regroup. Originally named for General Charles Lee, Fort Lee was rendered defenseless after Continental Army troops holding Fort Washington (the sister fort across the Hudson) were defeated and captured on November 16, 1776. The soldiers then began a hasty retreat through NJ, crossing the Hackensack River at New Bridge Landing and the Passaic River at Acquackanonk Bridge. It was during Washington's retreat (beginning along a road which is now Main Street) that Thomas Paine wrote the recognized phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls".

In the ultimate comeback, Washington and his troops then went on to cross the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776 and defeated the Hessian forces in Trenton and Princeton. The trip was dark, cold, icy, logistically challenging and fraught with danger - sounds like the past year and a half in a nutshell! In fact, Washington crossed the Delaware 3 times before going to the Princeton Battlefield and then finally reaching the Morristown Winter Encampment site on January 8, 1777. Throughout the journey, Washington's' Password for his troops was #VictoryOrDeath. To celebrate the NJ history, we have designed several courses thought to loosely mimic the troops foot steps. You can run along the map along side George Washington! Choose your distance, create your own comeback and help recreate history! What a great way to teach your kids history - the whole family can join!

This challenge starts on Dec 1 - Jan 8 to mark the time the troops arrived in McConkey's Ferry. Don't miss out - Send 2025 out strong!

Distances to choose from:

* 75 MILES in 39 days- Fort Lee to McConkey's Ferry _(~1.9 miles/day average) _

* 90 MILES in 39 days- McConkey's Ferry to Trenton Battlefield back to McConkey's Ferry, to Princeton Battlefield then onto the Morristown Winter Encampment _(~2.3 miles/day average)_

* _165 MILES in 39 days- Fort Lee to McConkey's Ferry to the Morristown Winter Encampment (~4.23 miles/day average) _
* RELAY TEAM 165 MILES in 39 days- Complete as a team and combine your runs to get your total 165 miles

You will have 39 days from to complete the total miles by Jan 8. You can run or walk anywhere you want, inside or outside as long as you log the miles. You do not have to run or walk each day, you just have to finish the total distance before or by Jan 8. You will be sent a reminder each day to log your distances as well as daily updates with your location and cumulative distance logged. You will also see how you place among the other participants daily.

All Participants will receive a long sleeve hooded shirt and a medal around the end of Jan. All mileage must be submitted into the website to record each day or each time you complete a daily mileage. All Relay participants must register individually and will receive 1 shirt and medal each.

**Disclaimer: Please do not run on unsafe roads, or areas that have been closed off to the public. Practice social distancing and any other requirements set forth by local, state and federal guidelines. This is a virtual run only, please do not gather as a crowd in any 1 location at the same time. Shirts and medals will be mailed starting around Jan 8. You will only be able to log the total miles for each event. You will not be able to log additional miles beyond the event distance.