Runners in the One Run for Boston relay cut through Conn. and hope for a midnight finish in Copley Square

By Derek J. Anderson, Globe Correspondent

Runners in the coast-to-coast One Run for Boston relay race dashed through the small town of Pomfret, Conn. around 2 p.m. today, moving closer to the finish line at Copley Square.

The cross-country, non-stop relay organized to raise money for those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings is behind its original projected arrival time of about 7:30 p.m.

After hundreds of runners cut through countrysides and cityscapes, the last leg is expected to finish about 12:30 a.m., said Kate Treleaven, an organizer of the massive charity race. In the 3,300-mile run, the runners were five hours behind schedule.

“[The runners] are doing great and luckily no one is getting stressed about it,” said Treleaven. “Everyone is in such good spirits. To only be five hours behind after all these miles isn’t too bad really.”

The One Run for Boston called for runners all over the country to sign up for one of more than 300 sections mapped out across 14 states. Starting in Los Angeles, Calif., each section has a specific length, where numerous participants can join in and run together. Most are about 10 miles long.

Treleaven said many people have joined into the race, which is great for raising money for the bombing victims, but had slightly slowed the pace. The relay has raised more than $76,000 by 1,936 people according to the One Run for Boston website this afternoon.

Saturday, the relay cut through New York City, traveling past the World Trade Center memorial site and Central Park, said Treleaven.

“After traveling three weeks in the country, New York was a bit of a culture shock,” she said and described the leg through NYC as “massively emotional.”

As the relay baton, nicknamed Miles, continues to be handed off closer to Boston, Treleaven said runners will begin to follow the exact Boston Marathon route when they arrive in Hopkinton.

“It will take us about four hours to complete,” she said about the final 26.2 miles. She expects participants to make it to Hopkinton around 8 p.m. In the 319th and final leg from Newton, about 650 runners have registered to finish the now 24-day relay and flow down Boylston Street to the Copley Square.

Miles, the baton, has been fitted with a GPS transponder and can be tracked online www.onerunforboston.org. as it is carried closer and closer to the finish line.

Derek J. Anderson can be reached at derek.anderson@globe.com.