Twenty Alabama Power employees will help fight cancer by running from Phenix City to Dauphin Island as part of the inaugural, 750-mile "Coast to Coast" Relay to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The relay is a joint initiative of Georgia Power and Alabama Power, both subsidiaries of Atlanta-based Southern Company . The relay begins April 27 in Savannah on the Georgia coast.

Runners from Georgia Power will hand the baton to Alabama Power runners on April 30 near the Alabama-Georgia line in Columbus, Ga. The Alabama Power runners are expected to pass through Montgomery later that day before turning south toward Mobile. The runners are expected to arrive at Dauphin Island on the Gulf coast on the morning of May 2.

The Alabama runners will be divided into three teams, running in relay fashion. Each participant is expected to run four or five legs, totaling about 20 miles over the course of the event. The runners will be supported by other employees who will follow the three teams in recreational vehicles.

"This is a real team effort, for a terrific cause," said Alabama Power employee Andi Sligh, coordinator of the Alabama portion of the relay and one of the runners.

"We plan to run in any kind of weather, only stopping if there's lightning," said Andi's husband Scott, also an Alabama Power employee and team member.

The six-day run is expected to raise more than $160,000 for the cancer society in Georgia and Alabama. The money will come from corporate sponsorships and from donations solicited by individual runners. All the money raised in Alabama will go toward cancer society efforts within the state.

Here's the route and tentative arrival times as the runners cross Alabama:

  Tuesday, April 30:

  3:30 a.m. - Alabama Power runners meet Georgia runners at Columbus Civic
  Center.  Alabama runners head west on U.S. 280, across the Chattahootchee
  River, then west on U.S. 80 toward Montgomery.

  4 p.m. - Runners reach outskirts of Montgomery, travel down Atlanta
  Highway to downtown.  Runners reach state Capitol and Alabama Power's
  offices on Dexter Avenue around 5 p.m.  Runners continue to U.S. 31 and
  turn south toward Mobile.

  Wednesday, May 1:

  Runners travel south on U.S. 31.  They are expected to reach Evergreen at
  7 a.m., Brewton at 10:40 a.m. and Flomaton at 11:30 a.m.

  Thursday, May 2:

  1:00 a.m. - Runners arrive at Alabama Power's offices in downtown Mobile
  after crossing Mobile Bay from Spanish Fort via Battleship Parkway.
  Runners head toward Tillmans Corner on Highway 90, then turn south toward
  Dauphin Island on Highway 193.

  7 a.m. - Runners arrives at Dauphin Island.  The relay ends at the public
  beach near Dauphin Island Elementary School.

Because of weather and other factors, arrival times may change. To find out the precise location of the Alabama Power runners at any time during the run, please call Melanie Camp at 877-328-8147.

Alabama Power's 6,700 employees are dedicated to providing reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.3 million customers across the state. Among other charitable contributions, Alabama Power employees and retirees contribute more than 60,000 hours and more than $1.1 million annually to community projects through the company's volunteer service organizations.

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SOURCE: Alabama Power Company