A charity run from Bloomington-Normal to Peoria turns 40 this year, supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and its affiliate clinics across the country—the first of which opened in Peoria in 1972.

Founded in 1985, the St. Jude Bloomington-Normal to Peoria Run was the first of more than 30 fundraisers convening in Peoria by foot. Runners participating in St. Jude's original charity run left Memphis on Tuesday. In addition to the inaugural satellite route from Bloomington-Normal to Peoria, runners start from Canton, Chillicothe, Dunlap, LaSalle/Peru and Washington, among many others.