Nun prepares to run in Cooper River Bridge Run

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - For weeks, runners have been training: walking and running the Ravenel Bridge and lacing up their shoes.

But one runner is dressing for the run a little different than others.

"Some people behind me when they pass me, they go, 'Oh good, I beat the old nun,'" Sister Mary Beth Lloyd said.

Sister Lloyd is running in this year's bridge run. She came here from New Jersey, but she's no stranger to running races like this.

"I always run with a rosary, and this rosary was made right here at Christ Our King church," Sister Lloyd said.

She says this 10K is no big deal. She usually runs bigger races—like 50 miles, 60 miles, even 100-mile runs.

"I don't go fast, I get to the end," Sister Lloyd said. "That's the trick."

But along the way, she spreads awareness of her cause. She said she runs for children, in countries like Ethiopia, who have become orphans because their parents died from AIDS.

"They have very little to eat, very little clothing, education, and so we're trying to provide for them," Sister Lloyd said.

Sister Lloyd runs for an organization called Orphans Rising. She said she meets people while she runs, which encourages them to donate to the children she's helping.

After posting about the Bridge Run on Facebook, Sister Lloyd already raised thousands.

"Within minutes I made 5 thousand dollars of small people just giving a little bit of what they had," Sister Lloyd said.

But she said her running also helps the people she meets along the way.

"I pray for people along the way who ask me for prayers, anyone that needs help," Sister Lloyd said.

But for Sister Mary Beth Lloyd, the real motivation that gets her through each race is knowing she's making a difference in the lives of kids who need it.

"The joy of being out here to tell 38,000 people that the children in Ethiopia need their help—can't beat that," Sister Lloyd said.

Sister Mary Beth Lloyd has been invited to lead the race in the first corral with a few Ethiopian runners.

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