Afghanistan Shadow Run T-Shirt & Banner Unveiled

Utica, NY (WIBX) - It was a special unveiling of the t-shirts and banner, heading to Afghanistan for the 5th "Boilermaker Shadow Run" that brought people together in front of the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. Tim Reed, Executive Director, Boilermaker Committee, says the new design has special meaning, "In order to be able to support the troops, we're sending them a special limited edition camouflage t-shirt." Holding them up he reads the message, "So, it's, 'Boilermaker Afghanistan 2012,' and on the back is, '65 hundred miles away, 9.3 to go,' which indicates as the crow flies, how far away they are from us in Afghanistan and the 9.3 that they still have to go."

The troops will be running at the same time as Utica runners. The difference is that their run will start at 8:00 a.m. Kandahar time. "Jeff Russo said, 'we may not be as fast as the elites, but we're still going to come in a lot faster that you guys are,' so I thought that was pretty cute," said Reed. Organizers are shipping 150 t-shirts to Afghanistan today for the troops taking part in the run. Reed says some of the runners include Italian and Afghan forces. Also, only 150 of the t-shirts will sold in the U.S.

Shadow Run is a special partnership with active duty Military personell who take part in the boilermaker overseas, where they're deployed. This year part of the proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts will be donated to the Veteran's Outreach Center in Utica. Reed says one of the founding members and Executive Director of the CNY Veteran's Center, Vinnie Scalice, is currently deployed in Afghanistan. The 150 remaining t-shirts can be purchased at the Boilermaker Expo for $25. The 35th running of the Boilermaker run is taking place Sunday, July 8th.