The Veishea Voyage has been around for more than 50 years, but many people aren’t aware of the annual torch run held to kick off the celebration.”The Veishea Voyage was first run in 1949, with the idea to appease the rain gods,” said Craig Stenberg, special events coordinator for tournaments. “In 1949, the Stars Over Veishea performance was outside, so if it rained, it would mess things up. It was an anti-rain run with about 150 students from Des Moines to Ames. The run became the unofficial trademark of Veishea.”While Stars Over Veishea eventually moved indoors, the torch run continued, said Stenberg, senior in architecture. During the ’50s and ’60s, many celebrities lit the torch, with Harry Truman starting the tradition of lighting in 1950. Other notaries included former presidents Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson and Alan Shepard, Jr. from NASA headquarters.”The Veishea Voyage was a big event, especially the first 20 to 30 years,” Stenberg said. “It started out as a short run, and in the past ten years, it has been much longer, about 500 miles.”Stenberg said not as much information can be found from the ’70s and ’80s, but he believes the Voyage was still strong during those years.The Voyage died down, he said, because it became a longer run and time commitment. He said people began to feel overwhelmed by the event.Routes the last 10 years have been both longer and theme- based — this year’s theme focuses on Iowa’s universities and colleges, said Shelly Hesse, tournament co-chair.”We decided to keep the Voyage in Iowa this year, with the route going through towns with colleges,” said Hesse, senior in exercise and sports science. “We want to get the colleges involved and show them what we do at ISU, and how this is the kickoff for Veishea.”Hesse said it’s important to involve other schools because it showcases the celebration to people outside Ames and the ISU community. “Veishea is the pride of ISU, and raising awareness helps make it the largest student-run celebration,” she said.The 24-hour run will begin in Storm Lake at Buena Vista University on April 16 and lead up to the opening ceremonies for Veishea on April 20, said Rebecca Miller, Veishea Voyage co-chair.People can run as little or as much as they like, said Miller, junior in English. She also pointed out that more runners in the event means fewer miles for each individual to run. Miller said she hopes for a good turnout, which would be at least 50 participants.Hesse said she also hopes to see a lot of runners because “being a part of the run is a fun activity to work with a group of people with the same interest. It’s an easy way to be a part of Veishea.”Applications for running can be picked up at the Lied Recreation Center, the Veishea office or the Veishea Web site, www.veishea.org. The applications are due with $12 registration fee for a T-shirt by 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Veishea office.”I encourage those that like to get out and run to get involved with it,” Miller said.