Motorcyclists participating in the annual Run for the Wall visited Marana on My 16.
On Thursday, May 16, there was more morning traffic than usual at the Marana Road Exit. Six-hundred and eighteen motorcycles, to be exact! Their purpose? A brief pitstop on their way across the country.
Their final destination? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC as part of the "Run for the Wall". Every May, motorcyclists ride together to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to honor those that have passed, welcome home the participating veterans and provide an opportunity for reflection.
Marana Road exit is one of the annual stops for the riders, and businesses in Marana welcomed the motorists with signs, parking areas (while all 618 where getting fueled up), and gas donations from Circle K. There were many honks during these 2 hours as onlookers waved and gave thumbs up as they passed, and a number of families came out to support the bikers.
This event is the largest and longest organized cross-country motorcycle run in the world, and has participants from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and more.
This year, the ride started on May 15 and they will reach Washington D.C. on May 24. There are four different routes crossing the country in different regions. The southern route began in Ontario, California and made a pit stop in Marana on Thursday morning.
While in Marana, there was a brief ceremony with the Golder Ranch Fire Fighters Pipes and Drums Local 3832 playing and presenting colors, local school children performing the Pledge of Allegiance, and Amber Simons O’Neill singing a version of Hallelujah.
One of the pillars of the Run to the Wall is to always strive for safety, and they accomplish this by working with local public safety officers to ensure safety for participants, traffic, sightseers, and other stake holders. Marana Police Department and Northwest Fire were a couple safety agencies present.
To view their live progress through GPS Signal visit here: https://rftw352.findmyscout.com/scouts/map
