The Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness

Lace up your shoes for the 6th annual Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness (CCR)! In this group running challenge, you will traverse the state of Connecticut north to south along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (FCT). This is a fundraiser for Mental Health Connecticut.

The Course

The route begins at the northern end of the FCT in West Suffield, CT and follows the FCT for roughly 57 miles to its terminus on the harbor in New Haven, CT, leading runners through rural, suburban, and urban centers through the state. The course is scenic and flat — very flat — the entire way.

Fundraising

There is no event fee to participate, however, all runners are asked to make a donation to, or raise donations for: Mental Health Connecticut. How about a $57 donation- a buck for every mile!

Why Participate

This is not a race. We organize this event to give runners the opportunity to support physical activity and wellness, help others, and the chance to run across an entire state.

Course Support

This trek, while epic, is unsupported. All runners will be sent a digital map with mile markers that correspond to convenience stores and other stops along the route, should they need to refuel or use a restroom. We will have several very basic aid stations along the way set up by volunteers, all of which will operate with an eye towards safety first.

Requirements

All runners must be confident in their abilities to make this 57-ish mile journey on foot and on their own. There is a hard cut-off of 14 hours to complete this run, which comes out to about a 15 minutes/mile pace. Runners who are not at the southern-most end of the Stop & Shop Plaza in Hamden by 11.5 hours will be pulled.

Finishers

All finishers will earn unique bragging rights when they arrive back at work on Monday. When you’re asked the question, “Hey, what’d you do this weekend?” while filling up at the Keurig, you can respond with something that will no doubt impress: “I ran across the state of Connecticut and raised money for mental health awareness. What’d you do?”