Faculty and alumni from Northeastern’s Physical Therapy program participated in the 9th annual Ruck4HIT Cape Cod, a 200+ mile relay race through all 15 towns on the Cape.
Each athlete ran 2-4 miles at a time with a 10- to 20-pound rucksack on his/her back. The rucksack is symbolic of the burdens our military and veterans make and have made in service to our country.
PTMRS Alumni Major Brian Calandra, Blithen Davis, and Josh Avery were one of 20 teams that participated in this event to raise awareness and over $220,000 for a local non-profit called Heroes In Transition (HIT). HIT was created in memory of Captain Eric Jones, a third-generation Northeastern University graduate, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2009.
Northeastern professor Alycia Markowski organized 36 hours of on-course Physical Therapy support with the help of fellow professors, Maureen Watkins and Chris Cesario, who are also alumni. They were joined by Alumni Kathryn Carroll, and Katrina Pollard, and in previous years by alumni Bob Brewster, TC Cleary, John L’Hommedieu, Thomas Reilly, Chris Hunt, Kathryn Cortelyou Diane Wollensak, and Missy Davis.
The Physical Therapy team leap-frogged across the course with the athletes providing preventative and supportive care until everyone crossed the finish line.
