Run the Bridges of the World!

Challenge yourself to run, walk or bicycle 50 miles between August 1, 2020 and October 1, 2020 across some of the most famous bridges in the world!

To commemorate completion of this challenge, we will award you a unique Galloping Gertie finisher medal and shirt. Through the course of this race, you will traverse the following bridges:

Bridge Location Span (feet)
Purdy Bridge - Washington, US - 550'
Kinsol Trestle Bridge - BC, Canada - 617'
London Bridge - London, UK - 882'
Deception Pass Bridge - Washington, US - 1,487'
Brooklyn Bridge - New York, US - 1,598'
West Seattle Bridge - Washington, US - 2,608'
Sidney Harbor Bridge - Sidney, Australia - 3,770'
Tacoma Narrows Bridge “Galloping Gertie” - Washington, US - 5,400'
Yavuz Sultan Salem - Istanbul, Turkey - 7,100'
Millau Viaduct - Millau, France - 8,071'
Golden Gate Bridge - California, US - 8,981'
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge - Honshu, Japan - 12,831'
Verrazano Narrows - New York, US - 13,700'
Sunshine Skyway - Florida, US - 21,859'
Mackinac Bridge - Michigan, US - 26,372'
Vasco da Gama - Lisbon, Portugal - 40,128'
Ponte Rio-Niteroi - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 43,613'
6th October Bridge - Cairo, Egypt - 65,257'
Total 264,824’ = approximately 50 miles

We will send you a tracking link so you can log completion of each bridge separately. And yes, you can complete multiple bridges during one session by grouping the shorter ones :)

What is Galloping Gertie?

Galloping Gertie is the nickname of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a local icon that spans the Puget Sound between Tacoma and Gig Harbor, Washington. Crossing it provides breathtaking views of the Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Mountains.

The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge suffered a catastrophic collapse in November 1940, just four months after it opened. It earned its nickname while it was under construction, when workers observed the bridge deck jump during periods of high wind. A fatal error in the engineering of the bridge resulted in its collapse when the winds caused something called aeroelastic flutter. At the time, Gertie was the third longest suspension bridge in the world.

The replacement bridge opened in1950 (this is the existing westbound bridge) and the newer eastbound bridge opened in 2007. The engineering disaster that resulted the collapse of the bridge makes the Tacoma Narrows Bridge one of the more famous in the world.

Help Us Make a Difference!!

To mark the 80th anniversary of Galloping Gertie’s collapse, we need your help to go virtual!

For the past ten years, Rotary Club of Gig Harbor North has sponsored a half-marathon, 10k and 5K across the bridge. Unfortunately, the 2020 event had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus. While we will all miss the fun and excitement of our traditional race, this virtual event will continue the ten-year tradition of crossing a famous bridge to support youth programs here and around the world.

Local beneficiaries of the fundraising event will be FoodBackpacks4Kids, Children’s Home Society and Communities In School Peninsula. In addition, your efforts will help support Opal House in Guatemala and the Rotary International Foundation.

Thank you for joining us in this virtual run! We look forward to seeing you on the “real” Tacoma Narrows Bridge next year.

Event's current local time: 2:52 PM PT