Washington head coach Ron Rivera participated in the “Run Rich Run” challenge on Thursday, in which he and his wife, Stephanie, donated $100K to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Rivera posted the news on Twitter; however, he wasn’t the one who ran the 40-yard dash. Instead, he said a family member was going to run for him — his dog, Tahoe.
Tahoe proceeded to run one of the fastest 40 times ever recording, coming in at a blazing 3.39 seconds.
Rivera, who battled cancer in 2020 during his first season as head coach of Washington, underwent seven weeks of treatment and was declared cancer-free in January.
Rivera said Washington owners Dan and Tanya Snyder matched his $100K donation, specifically going toward proton therapy, which Rivera said was instrumental in his recovery.
Hey @richeisen Check out my 40 time to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital & specifically #ProtonTherapy which was instrumental in my battle w/cancer & is an available treatment for children @StJude #RunRichRun @WashingtonNFL pic.twitter.com/3ZTpByFpyz
— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) April 29, 2021
The “Run Rich Run” challenge was established by NFL Network host Rich Eisen and is an annual event. Eisen usually runs his charity 40-yard dash at the combine, but the event was canceled in 2021.
The NFL Network will televise the “Run Rich Run” challenge on day three of the 2021 NFL draft.