Brigance's Brigade Marches Strong

Head Coach John Harbaugh, with daughter Alison and wife Ingrid, leads the Ravens players and coaches off the buses to join the 5K run.

Honorary chairman O.J. Brigance poses for a picture with TE Daniel Wilcox.

The Ravens were supposed to have a minicamp practice Saturday morning, but that was cancelled for another type of conditioning.

Under the direction of head coach John Harbaugh, the entire team surprised director of player development O.J. Brigance at a race benefiting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Brigance was serving as honorary chairman for the Fiesta 5K run to support the Robert Packard Center and ALS research. He was diagnosed with the fatal illness, also called Lou Gherig’s disease, one year ago. ALS affects nerve cells responsible for movement and progressively worsens over time.

As the racers, which included a large contingent of Ravens front office members wearing “Brigance’s Brigade” shirts, took the starting line, two chartered buses arrived at Power Plant Live in downtown Baltimore to dispatch players and coaches in similar garb.

A typically-loquacious Brigance was at a loss for words upon seeing his unexpected co-workers.

“This is truly a special day,” he said Saturday. “I am honored that everyone could come out and support me and support this cause. We can all work to fight ALS.”

While some of the players actually ran the entire 3.1 miles, most of them opted for a mix of jogging and walking through the city course. After the race, it was evident that training for quick bursts of speed required for football is different than long-distance running.

“I’ll probably be a little sore tomorrow,” said linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo with a laugh.

“The last time I ran this long was definitely in high school,” guard/center Jason Brown chimed in.

According to Brigance, the race raised more than $160,000 and had 700 people in its second year. All in all, the Ravens had over 170 representatives attending the event, the largest group at the event.