Pushing The Limits for a Good Cause

By Alexis Hall, Assistant Director of Athletics

IF SOMEONE ASKED you to run to raise money, you probably would. But if someone asked you to run 24 miles in 24 hours, starting each mile at the top of every hour, would you still?

Student-athletes Will Grainger ’23 and Casey Scott ’23 not only participated but were founders of creating a 24-in-24 fundraising event on their own, and they have done it twice.

“There are very loose rules on how you complete the mile; you just have to run,” Will explained. “The challenge is more a mental test of willpower than of physical athleticism.”

Inspired by a TikTok challenge, 24 in 24 was adopted by the pair to raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank, where both as a service project, though Casey’s dad donated money to Second Harvest Food Bank in our name,” Will explained. “In August 2021, we ran it for the first time as a service project, before doing it again in January 2023.”

“The Second Harvest Food Bank does a lot of good work for food deserts and food-deprived individuals in the Charlotte area,” Casey added. “Will reached out to a bunch of our friends to participate in the first fundraiser, and we all did it together and it continued to grow.”

To raise awareness, they created a GoFundMe connected directly to Second Harvest Food Bank and spread the word by reaching out to friends and family and sharing on social media, posting selfies of their solo runs in the early hours of the morning, and videos of their group’s progress through the day. From just a $500 donation in their name, Will and Casey raised over $2,000.

Keep in mind, this is a true 24-in-24 challenge, meaning all day, all night. “From this fundraiser, I learned the extent of my willpower,” Casey said. “I continued time and time again to realize what I could do when I really put my mind to it, even

“At Country Day, we built relationships through the shared struggle of running each hour. Spending hours together, pushing ourselves, brought us all closer,” Will said. “I learned how supportive people can be. As difficult as the challenge was, at times it was just fun to talk as we ran and hung out between each mile. The struggle was made easier by sharing it

The pair hopes to make this an annual event, inspiring others to compete in similar challenges in the name of charitable giving. Through Will and Casey’s leadership, we are shown how actions lead to influence and the capacity to be the change, even when no one is watching you run.