Freedom's Run Foundation

All of the book royalties from the on sale date will be dedicated to Mark’s community work through his non-profit Eastern Area Health Education Center/Freedoms Run.

During the holiday season of 2008, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a Professor of Family Medicine, and Lois Turco, an advocate for a heritage area in Jefferson County, met by chance in Shepherdstown. Their conversation that day sparked an idea that would eventually catch alight and one day become West Virginia’s largest running event, the Freedom’s Run.

An Event for Health and Heritage, their goal was to promote healthy lifestyles, walking and biking paths, and more involvement in the nearby national parks.

The race has grown immensely in its short existence.

“There’s a lot of appeal to this area,” Turco said, explaining the rapid growth of Freedom’s Run. “You get to enjoy two states at once. There are five National Parks in this area.”

“Word of mouth is a huge part of this,” she said. “We’ve gotten in running magazines across the country. We have an expo the night before which starts to create a sense of community among runners who have come from all over. It’s also a big draw for veterans.”

Also pivotal to the race’s success is coordinating with town officials and tourism, sponsors, like West Virginia University Medicine and Shepherd University, and the three National Parks the race runs through: Harper’s Ferry NHP, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP, and Antietam Battlefield NHP.

Partly inspired by this new asset and the subsequent spike in tourism, in 2011 the Canal Towns Partnership formed. The Canal Towns Partnership brings together nine towns in Maryland and West Virginia that border the C&O Canal National Historical Park to work together on generating mutually beneficial economic activity in their region. The goal is to create amenities and business to cater to visitors that are hiking or bicycling through on the towpath.’ – Courtney Roark, The Remarkable Rise and Rise of Freedom’s Run

Freedom’s Run continues to grow and with the development of the Freedom’s Run Community Grant and Freedom’s Run Race Series including Harper’s Ferry Half Marathon has donated over $250,000. The goal of developing Health and Heritage in the beautiful state of West Virginia is thriving.

Read more about the causes and how to donate or apply for a grant visit our grants page

Or go direct to our GoFundMe page

And make sure to watch the West Virginia Kids Running Revolution video!