NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Our Lady of Perpetual Help principal Steve Beyl wanted to bring awareness to his school’s scholarship fund, so he laced up his shoes and hit the road.
The New Albany school principal ran a marathon…kind of.
Beyl initially ran 3.2 miles starting Thursday night, then one mile each hour for 24 hours. His total distance was 26.2 miles.
All along the way he posted photos online, encouraging people to donate to the school’s scholarship fund to give kids an opportunity to attend the private school.
The total kept climbing as Beyl kept running.
Students and their families, as well as teachers and staff from the school made visits from a distance during the marathon. Beyl had quite a cheering section for his last mile.
“I don’t know what my expectations were when we started this, in terms of financial donations and would people care,” Beyl said. “But people truly did care and it was just amazing to run that last mile and see how many people made it a point to be there.”
As of Saturday afternoon, people donated $7,722 for the scholarship fund, which Beyl says is a testament to the school community and the relationships formed there.
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