PHILADELPHIA-- The road from the U.S. Military Academy to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where the Army-Navy game was played stretches more than 150 miles.

Each and every one of those miles was traversed by the members of the West Point Marathon team between Dec. 6 and 7 as they completed the annual ball run to deliver the game football to the stadium.

The team left West Point Thursday evening and arrived at the stadium Friday afternoon after running through the night, despite temperatures that dipped into the 20s, while toting the game ball. Each member of the team ran between 15 and 20 miles during the journey, including an eight to 10 mile stretch where they were in charge of holding the ball.

"It is our way of supporting the team and contributing to, hopefully, an Army win," Class of 2019 Cadet Tyler Reece said of why they make the run.

"We run from West Point all the way to wherever the Army-Navy game is, either Philadelphia or Baltimore. We take turns handing off the ball, kind of like an extended relay, and run it all the way through the night."

The ball run dates back to the 1970s and is an annual tradition whether the game is in Philadelphia or Baltimore. As the tradition has grown, communities along the route have begun to expect the team and have started lining the streets to cheer on the runners and give support to them throughout the run.

Once the team makes it into Philadelphia, they are joined by additional runners who finish the last five miles of the run from the Rocky Steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to Lincoln Financial Field.

"Our van by the end of this had about 30 pounds of pretzels, because that is apparently the snack of choice," Class of 2020 Cadet Murray Johnston said. "You will have random people on the side of the road holding a big Army sign and just toss a bag of pretzels. It is just part of the experience of it all."

Along their route, the members of the marathon team were greeted by giant American flags hanging from fire trucks, fans cheering them along and supporters ready to give them a helping hand. The team arrived at the stadium around 4 p.m. the day before the game, but making the trip requires long, grueling hours of running the ball through the middle of the night where the members of the team and their support vehicles are some of the few things along the road.

"It is very much not the glory runs, but they are some of the most important people there," Class of 2020 Cadet Ryan French said. "They are in the dirt of it, it is pitch black and it is really only the lights of the police car in front of them that they can see. It is the motivation of having your teammates in there and the Corps rallying behind you with it."

It was during those dark hours in the middle of the night as the miles passed beneath her feet that Class of 2020 Cadet Eden Elizabeth Phillips said she was able to reflect upon the service she is going to be giving to her country in the coming years. Then, as the sun prepared to set Friday after a full day of running and they raced through the last five miles at a sub-six minute mile pace, the community joined in and ran side-by-side with the West Point cadets.

"People were asking to cheer us on along the sidelines and when we would be coming through their towns," Phillips said. "We do it to bring the community together and start off the team right by getting those rushing yards before they even make it to the stadium."