Is your name Cooper River Bridge?

Because you’ve been running through my mind all day.

248. The number of miles conquered thus far by the Cooper River Bridge Run. Tomorrow marks the 41st occurrence of the third-largest 10K in the U.S., and with 40,000 registrants yearly, the race shows no sign of slowing down.

What started as a $3 footrace, has turned into an entire experience. From the Taste of the Bridge Run, to the Kid’s Run + Wonderfest, the CRBR has come a long way since the first run in 1978 when water was not even provided on the course.

But, did you know the bridge run was the brainchild of a doctor? Or that the race has been run over three different bridges?

Let’s run down the facts to see what fueled the bridge run in the past, to get it to today’s finish line.

A walk down memory lane
In the 1970s, it became apparent to Dr. Marcus Newberry of MUSC that “medical care was dominating health in the United States and it could not deliver the expectations of good health and wellness.” It was after a trip back to his home state of Ohio, where he became inspired by the track constructed by Bonne Bell Cosmetics to encourage employees to run + stay fit, that the idea for the bridge run came to life.

Dr. Newberry hoped the run would promote a healthy lifestyle. To get the community on board, he worked alongside a committee, including Terry Hamlin, the then President of the Charleston Running Club, + representatives from The Citadel, MUSC, CofC, + the running club.

From there, all that was needed was access to the bridge. With the highway commissioner pushing back, stating “We don’t close bridges for people. Bridges are for vehicles.” it was State State Senator Dewey Wise who intervened. Senator Wise pushed through legislation to allow the bridge to be utilized one morning a year– just for the CRBR. In his honor, the Dewey Wise trophy is awarded each year to the oldest runner who runs a time faster than his/her age.

A bridge breakdown
Over the course of 41 years, the annual event has crossed over three different bridges:

1878-1979; 1995-2005: Silas Pearman bridge
1890-1994: Grace Memorial bridge
2006- today: Arthur Ravenel bridge

Race you to the finish
While each year is memorable, we’ve highlighted a few of the CRBR’s biggest kicks below:

🏃First Race: April 2, 1978

• Runners: 340 pre-register, with another 600-700 showing up on race day
  
  • Only 766 finished (at the time, everything was clocked + recorded by hand)
• Cost: $3 entry fee includes t-shirt designed by the race director
• DYK: Water was not provided– resulting in several dropping out of the race + some being hospitalized due to the effects of the heat

🏃Seventh Race: March 31, 1984

• Cost: $6
• Accolades: Named one of the top races in the country by The Runner magazine
• Money Maker: The first year in which prize money was awarded
  
  • Total of $3,000 paid
    
    • $1,500 each to the male + female winner

🏃Eighth Race: March 30, 1985

• Newsworthy: First time the race broadcasted on local TV– Channel 5 carries the broadcast through 1990

🏃Ninth Race: April 5, 1986

• Award: Dr. Marcus Newberry trophy is awarded to the first male + female finishers from the tri-county area
• Making History: The first time over 1,000 women complete in any race in SC (1,202)
• Accolades: Voted as the “favorite race” by readers of Carolina Runner Magazine (now Running Journal)

🏃Seventeenth Race: March 26, 1994

• Celeb Status: Oprah runs the race, under an assumed name, finishing 3,839th in a time of 55:48

🏃Twentieth Race: April 5, 1997

• Celeb Status: Bill Murray starts the race
• Technology: First time to use the ChampionChip computer timing chip (tied to the shoelace, activated when the starting line is crossed and deactivates upon stepping on a pad at the finish line)

🏃Twenty-fifth Race: April 6, 2002

• Award: Hall of Fame established for runners who had contributed to the race by their running or other actions

🏃Twenty-seventh Race: April 3, 2004

• Tragedy: 47-year-old James Scott of Charleston has a heart attack while running up the first span of the bridge with his 20-year-old daughter. It is the first death of a participant.

🏃Thirty-fifth race: March 31st, 2012

• Runners: 36,755 registered– the largest single-year registration for this event

• Viral Status: The CRBR is graced with 25-year-old New York resident Zeddie Little, who will forever be memorialized in the “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy” meme

🏃Thirty-ninth race: April 2, 2016

• Making History: Adam Gorlitsky, a Mt. Pleasant native, completes the race in seven hours– becoming the first paraplegic participant to cross the finish line in an exoskeleton suit. You can read more of his story, ‘I Got Legs’, here.

Record Holders
Male: James Kimutai Kosgei (Kenya)– 27.40 (2000)
Female: Elana Meyer (South Africa)– 31.19 (1997)
Over three-quarters of participants hail from more than 60 miles away

Giving back
Beyond bring a $30 million jog to the economy each year, the CRBR also partners with 14 local + national charities. Each charity sends at least 100 volunteers to the run. (You can thank them for your water). Learn more about this year’s charities here.

//

Will you be participating in the CRBR? Here are some helpful tips to make you race-ready:

• Where to park for $5
• Make sure your bike is moved from its corral by 1 a.m.
• No drones!
• Find the after-parties here

For those of you not participating, expect heavy traffic with these roads being closed for the race.

One of CHStoday’s very own producers, Jen, will be out there this Saturday getting over it with 32,999 of her peers. I will be there as well, at the finish line– drinking, I mean, holding her beer. 🍺

Here’s to all of the CRBR runners who continue the mission of health + fitness in the Lowcountry– and to all the cheerleaders, local bands, + restaurants who make the after-parties worth the 6.2-mile climb to the finish line. 🏅

– Nicole, Engagement Editor

P.S.– We here at CHStoday would love to see your race day photos. Be sure to tag them with #CHStoday so we can congratulate you.