Vivian White’s “run to Iraq” and her son, Army Pfc. Brian Bales, continued Sunday when she and her husband, Matt White, ran their first Boilermaker 15K Road Race.

When her 20-year-old son left for Iraq in January, Vivian started adding up the miles she ran, with hopes of reaching 6,436 miles – the distance it would take to travel from their home in Charleston, Ill., to Kirkuk, Iraq.

Now, including “donated” miles from runners and races all over the country, including the Boilermaker, the total miles run is more than 12,000.