Five days. Two nonprofits. One flag. From September 12 to 16, 2026, runners carried a single American flag 250 miles by foot from the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a relay called "One Flag Forward". The effort, organized jointly by wear blue: run to remember and Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) and presented by USAA, marked both the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and 250 years of American military service.
A relay built on legacy, not competition
Organizers were explicit that this wasn't a race or a memorial march. "In the military, we set aside our colors to rally under one shared banner: the American flag," said Col. (Ret.) Michael "Sully" Sullivan, Team RWB's executive director, in the official announcement. "That's exactly what we're doing here — uniting two organizations and the entire military-connected community under one symbol to honor the 1.3 million lost in the nation's first 250 years."
For five days, teams of service members, veterans, and Gold Star and surviving family members took turns carrying the flag, with some covering as much as 50 miles in a single day. Lisa Hallett, a Gold Star spouse and co-founder of wear blue: run to remember, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Lee Yoneyama helped lead the effort alongside Sullivan, according to regional news coverage of the relay's finish at the National Mall.
Why a run like this matters
Endurance events built around remembrance do something a plaque or a ceremony can't: they put the weight of the mission in your legs. Anyone who has trained for a long race knows that a hard mile clears space to think, grieve, and process in a way that sitting still rarely does. That's part of why running and endurance sport have become such a natural home for veteran and military-family organizations working through loss — the movement itself becomes the tribute.
It's also a reminder of how much reach a well-organized relay can have. Two national nonprofits, a corporate sponsor, and hundreds of participants turned a symbolic act — carrying a flag — into five days of visible, mile-by-mile storytelling that reached communities the length of the East Coast. Donations from the event are being split evenly between wear blue: run to remember and Team RWB, both of which focus on building community and support for veterans, service members, and military families through fitness and connection.
The mission continues past the finish line
"One Flag Forward" ended at the National Mall, but the work these organizations do — and the work Operation WarriorFit exists to support — doesn't wrap up when an event does. Long after the flag was folded, the veterans, service members, and Gold Star families who carried it are still looking for the next race, the next training group, the next reason to lace up.
That's exactly the gap Operation WarriorFit tries to fill. If you're a veteran, active-duty service member, or first responder looking for your next start line, browse upcoming races or check your eligibility for a free entry. Whether it's a local 5K or something as ambitious as a multi-day relay, the community built along the way is often the whole point.