SPANNING HISTORY
34 YEARS LATER, BRIDGE RUN IS A PART
OF LOWCOUNTRY LORE story by Amy Kehm
It was Sunday, April 2, 1978. A brilliant blue sky and intense sunshine welcomed an enthusiastic group of runners to Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. Little did they know that they were laying the building blocks of an incredible legacy – the Cooper River Bridge Run.
of Charleston and finished the 10-kilometer race at the Battery. Teir strenuous efforts that day were the beginning of what would become a premier, annual celebration, not only for Mount Pleasant and Charleston but for the entire Lowcountry and beyond, drawing tens of thousands of runners and walkers from around the world. March 31, 2012, will mark the 35th edition of the Cooper River Bridge Run, now on its third bridge: the Silas Pearman for two years, the Grace Memorial from 1980 to 1994, the Pearman again from 1995 to 2005 and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge since 2006. Runners have adjusted to different routes and survived a variety of weather is- sues, but they have kept coming in massive numbers.
T
HE HEAT WAS ON – LITERALLY. THE RACE-TIME TEMPERATURE climbed to a balmy 82, quite warm for early April, even in the South. Te race organizers were sweating for another reason, however. Tey expected between 500 and 600 participants for the inaugural run, but an additional 350 or so showed up at the starting line. Tey actually ran out of applications. Despite these obstacles, a crowd of nearly 1,000 took off from Patriots Point, bounded across the Silas Pearman Bridge, wound through the streets
The three key players in the development of the Cooper River Bridge Run enjoy a stroll on the
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Left to right: Julian Smith,
Terry Hamlin and Dr. Marcus Newberry. Photo by Kayla Jones Photography.
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