L-S Grad Hits 1,400 Mile Relay to Help Endangered Tigers

Photo (submitted): Some of the team members pose with RITchie the Tiger, RIT’s mascot.

A Lincoln-Sudbury High School alum hopes to help promote female athletics and raise awareness for endangered tigers when she embarks on a 1,400-mile nonstop relay.

Emily Knaul, who graduated in 2012, will join a team that takes off on the “Tiger Trail” relay starting March 21. She’s studying chemical engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The team consists of 16 female runners, all past and present members of the Rochester Institute of Technology, all hoping to promote female athletics and raise awareness for endangered tigers. The tiger, after all, is the school’s mascot.

This route connects seven universities that share this mascot; all are involved in Tigers for Tigers, a national coalition that works for tiger conservation.

Beginning with Auburn University in Alabama, the team will run in a continuous relay back to RIT, passing through Brenau University, University of South Carolina, Towson University, Princeton University, and SUNY Cobleskill along the way. Each woman will run three miles at a time before passing off the baton, leaving about six hours of rest in between each leg. Tiger Trail will take place during RIT’s spring break and will last roughly eight days: March 21-29.

Inspiration for Tiger Trail stems also from the past running endeavors of the men’s cross country teams at RIT, said a press release. In 1968, the team carried a torch from Washington D.C. to Rochester to celebrate RIT’s then new campus. In 1979 and 2004, the teams ran coast-to-coast (west to east) to commemorate RIT’s 150th and 175th anniversaries. The women are looking forward to continuing and expanding on RIT’s running traditions. This will be the first time an all female collegiate group has accomplished such a feat.

Friends and family will be able to track the team’s progress during the run. Follow @rittigertrail on Twitter and Instagram and like “RIT Tiger Trail” on Facebook to follow the tigers as they prepare for this epic journey!

You can support the runners by donating.

Photo: Some of the team members pose with RITchie the Tiger, RIT’s mascot.