The Legacy Run is underway

The Legacy Run is underway

More than 400 motorcycle riders, passengers and support staff roared out of Indianapolis this morning for the fourth annual American Legion Legacy Run, an event that raises scholarship money for the children of servicemembers killed on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. Before departing, the riders had already raised $124,829.36 – only about $275,000 short of the 2009 Legacy Run’s total donations goal. Participants will cruise through seven states and finish Aug. 23 in Louisville, Ky., the site of the Legion’s 91st National Convention.

The 1,200-mile ride includes stops at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pa. Up-to-the-minute updates are available on Twitter, and daily happenings are recounted on a blog, where photos from each day will also be available.

The Legacy Scholarship fund, established in 2001, has accrued more than $3 million – including $1 million from the first three Legacy Runs.

This year, 418 participants will ride the entire route. That number continues to rise each year, as only a total of 310 riders have driven the entire route the three previous runs combined.