California

Singer To Run Across the Country for South Bay Charities

A San Jose-based charity and national tourist association kicked off a fundraising campaign Thursday that will include a footrace across the United States. A South Bay singer is running to raise money for disadvantaged youth, according to Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.

Aprylle Gilbert will run the length of Route 6 from Long Beach, California, to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, starting May 11. Her run will span 3,652 miles. Route 6 is perhaps less well known than its neighbors such as Route 66 and it has a story of its own.

It's the "oldest, highest and longest of the old roads," said president and CEO of the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association Russell Lombard.

"It's also known as the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Highway."

Route 6 is a connection of existing roads rather than a road that government officials conceived and built. Some of the roads were used during the Civil War and at least one road dates to 1630, 10 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

Route 6 rises to 11,992 feet above sea level at Loveland Pass in Colorado. No other federal road rises as high.

Aprylle Gilbert is an extreme-distance runner from the Bay Area. She's best known as an author and as a loved Bay Area folk-rock musician.

Gilbert plans to run 30 to 50 miles a day and she is planning to hold a few promotional concerts along the way. The run will take her about 92 days if she averages 40 miles each day.

The money raised by Gilbert is set to go to the Washington United Youth Center in San Jose to improve the after-school programs. Gilbert is challenging other athletes who share her goals to run with her for a portion
of the trip.

Residents can track Gilbert's progress after May 11 at www.Aprylle.com.

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