PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Runners took part in a day-long event this weekend at one of Philadelphia's most iconic landmarks, in order to help some of the city's most vulnerable residents.
"Physically I'm exhausted, but emotionally, mentally it's amazing to see people from all walks of life from across the city coming together," said Michael Rowe, on the home stretch of his run of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's "Rocky steps" on Sunday morning.
"We have 35 athletes who have been going up and down the Art Museum steps for 24 hours," he said of the event, called PHL24.
Rowe is president and CEO of Legacy of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people in Philadelphia with cancer, who cannot afford their basic necessities. The PHL24 endurance event is meant to help them continue that fight.
"We get referrals every single day for families who can't feed their kids, their utilities are being shut off, they’re being evicted, they can’t afford transportation, they can't get to doctor's offices," said Rowe.
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For the last five years, the run has helped support thousands of Philly families, according to Rowe. He said the money raised from the day is put toward a special partnership they have with the Philadelphia Police Department.
"They actually deliver groceries to the doors of cancer patients every single week, because a lot of these patients are too sick to get out of the house," he said.
"When the police come to people's homes, people think it’s a bad thing but when we're out there knocking on people's doors and with groceries, they're just like, 'Wow,'" said Philadelphia police officer Ryan Barksdale, who took part in the run.
At the end of his run, Barksdale said he was exhausted and in pain, but he perservered. "I went up these steps probably about 200 times. Some of the other people out here have been going up the steps about 700 times," he said.
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"For the people suffering from cancer, they can't do it. They're fighting every day and we got the easy part, just coming out here, just walking up and down the steps."
For Barksdale, every step is personal, "just remembering a friend of mine that died from cancer. That's the reason why I'm out here."
The 24-hour run featured free cancer screenings as well as a memorial at the end.
"In situations like this, we're fortunate to see the best of what people have to offer when they come together," said Rowe.
Run officials said their goal was to raise $150,000 to help continue their work.