Aaron and Jared Barnett ended their months-long run across Pontiac on Oct. 31 with a two-mile finish through downtown. Nearly a hundred supporters joined the final stretch, and the brothers later received a city welcome at the Strand Theater, whose marquee displayed their names, according to MLive. Pontiac designated the day in their honor.
The project connected the brothers’ route to a city with a long, documented history. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation says Pontiac was founded in 1818 and incorporated in 1861; the railroad helped spur downtown growth and industry in the nineteenth century. The National Park Service also lists Pontiac’s Commercial Historic District in its National Register records. Those records provide historical context for the brothers’ videos about local history, but do not establish which historic sites their routes covered.
The route’s scale is not settled
The available accounts give different measures of what the brothers completed. MLive’s November report describes nearly 300 miles of Pontiac streets. Before the finish, ClickOnDetroit reported that they had covered more than 760 streets and were nearing the finish; the post-finish account refers to the city’s 766 streets. The reports do not reconcile the different street counts, and the mileage figures should not be treated as a verified measurement of the full street network.
Street responsibility can also cross local-government boundaries: the Road Commission for Oakland County says jurisdiction over major streets is divided between communities and the commission in nearly every county city and village. That general arrangement does not confirm the brothers’ route, mileage or street count.
The civic recognition marked a community project as well as a running challenge. MLive reported that residents joined the brothers along the way and that they used short videos to highlight Pontiac history. The brothers were also scheduled to receive formal recognition at a Nov. 10 City Council meeting, according to the outlet.
