Riverside man will run non-stop for 24 hours to raise money for vets

A Riverside man who has run marathons in Antarctica, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and was involved in this summer’s failed attempt to row nonstop around Long Island is just going to be running around town on Veterans Day in his latest fundraising endeavor.
But this is no morning job. Chris Cuddihy of Riverside is planning to run 24 hours straight in downtown Riverhead to raise awareness of and money for the Veterans Place, a shelter for homeless veterans in Yaphank.
Mr. Cuddihy, a 56-year-old computer technician at the Riverhead County Center, father of four and grandfather of seven, has done numerous endurance events for charities in recent years. He holds two Guinness world records, one as a member of a four-man team that was the first to row a multi-hulled boat across the Atlantic and another for running seven ultra-marathons in seven days on seven continents.
While his last goal, rowing non-stop around Long Island, was not accomplished, it still raised more than $4,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project.
This time, he’ll be running through downtown Riverhead on a three-quarter-mile course that will follow the riverfront to Atlantis Marine World Aquarium, then head north to Main Street, back to Peconic Avenue and back to the riverfront. He’ll run this route over and over for 24 hours, from 4 p.m. Nov. 10 to 4 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. He’s calling it Riverfront 24, and has set up a website at  http://riverfront24.weebly.com/index.html.
The Veterans Place shelter also helps homeless veterans get back into mainstream society. It is operated by the Suffolk County United Veterans Project.
Mr. Cuddihy said he was made aware of the Veteran’s Place by his son, Ryan, who works for the county police and learned about it from officers there.
“They really are the forgotten ones,” Mr. Cuddihy said of the homeless veterans.
He described the facility as “a sanctuary for the people we turn away from in the street. A place that helps veterans that have lost their way and have no voice.”
Mr. Cuddihy hopes to raise money for the shelter by selling small American flags during his run and by including a direct link from the Riverfront 24 website to the Suffolk County United Veterans website — http://www.scuv.org — where donations can be made by Pay Pal or credit card.
Mr. Cuddihy said canned goods will also be collected for the shelter’s food pantry.
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