Greenfield woman reaches goal of running in 88 Ohio counties
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
A Greenfield woman whose journey across the state has included dressing like a flamingo, racing against a goat and even running through snow and ice recently celebrated the successful completion of one of her personal goals: to run in all 88 counties in Ohio.
Wendy Ellis, an art teacher for kindergarten through sixth grade students at Western Local Elementary in Pike County, said her inspiration for racing in each county started as “kind of a joke.” After one of her friends said she’d like to race in every state, Ellis’ curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t have time to travel across the country.
“She said, ‘You could probably do Ohio,”” Ellis said. “I said yeah, I’ve done several counties already. Then it became kind of a goal to do it and see how quickly I could get them.”
After four years and a lot of planning, Ellis reached her goal when she raced in the “Run with the Amish” at Miller’s Amish Furniture and Bakery in Adams County at the end of September.
Ellis said that she hasn’t always been interested in running, taking up the hobby about a year before setting her goal to run throughout the state. She started running as a fun way to socialize and spend time with friends and grew to love the sport.
“It was the camaraderie of it,” Ellis said. “Plus, it was something new to do. It was hard at first – I had to walk for some of it, then run. But the more I did it, the more fun it became. You get faster, and it gets easier.”
To reach her goal, Ellis ran in several different distance races, including 5K races, 10K races and half marathons.
“I haven’t done a full marathon yet,” Ellis said. “Maybe one day I can work myself up to that, but it’s a lot of training and work. But someday, I hope I can work my way up to running a marathon.”
When she first set the goal, Ellis said that she didn’t have a time frame in mind, just wanted to eventually reach the milestone. However, the more she ran, the more motivated she became.
“The more I did it, the more I wanted to hurry up, so it became an every week thing – ‘hey, we’re going somewhere,’” Ellis said.
Ellis said that once she set out to visit all 88 counties, she knew she wanted to finish with a race in a nearby county.
“I wanted to finish in one close to home once I started,” Ellis said. “That way, people who wanted to come could go.
“I had about 15 people come down to watch me [in Adams County], which was a pretty good turnout since it started at 8 a.m.”
That isn’t surprising, considering family and friends have been a huge support for Ellis throughout this journey, cheering her on in person or on social media and even running with her in some events. Ellis’ grandmother Patricia Smith, who also lives in Greenfield, has been by her side for many of the races.
“My grandma has done about half of the races with me,” Ellis said. “She went to most of the other ones she didn’t walk in, so she was still there, just not participating.”
In addition to her grandmother, Ellis’ sister also ran in several events with her. Ellis said that her fiancé and several of her friends were supportive and frequently traveled with her.
“I had two friends who would help me check off counties if no one else could go,” Ellis said. “They would say ‘how can I help?’ They would call around and find 5Ks for me.
“I’ve been really lucky. Most people have been really supportive, helping me find somewhere good to stay or someplace good to eat, helping me look up races or coming to watch me.”
Ellis couldn’t pick a favorite county event, saying they each had their own unique appeal, but she and her friends particularly enjoyed races with a fun theme, where they could dress up in costumes.
“They were all different,” Ellis said. “You either had a theme, or a really hard mountain you had to climb. You just never realize what you’re going to get from week to week when you show up.
“It’s fun to race at home, though, because you know everyone.”
Dressing up for a themed race also brought one of Ellis’ most memorable experiences, although she said it was initially a “really embarrassing” one.
“I did one not long ago in Guernsey County, a flamingo run, where I wore a flamingo outfit,” Ellis said. “I have a friend who was planning to run and dress up with me, but she’s six months pregnant and couldn’t go. I went and did it anyway, and she told me ‘dress up anyway.’ I went, and I was the only one dressed up.
“I felt really stupid, but all these people were coming up to me and hugging me. Everyone really loved it. More people showed up later who were dressed up, but at first it was really embarrassing.”
Ellis also ran in the “Shawshank Hustle” at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, where the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” was filmed. Other themed races included a “Leprechaun Chase” and an “Ugly Sweater Reindeer Run” in Vinton County.
“I must say, the reindeer run is the only time I have raced against a goat,” Ellis said. “Someone dressed their pet goat up as a reindeer.”
Over the past four years, Ellis has gotten to know a lot of other runners across the state, many of whom have learned about her goals and wished her well.
“I’ve seen a lot of the same people at different times,” Ellis said. “If I go to one county and then the neighboring county, they say ‘hey, there’s that girl that’s running in every county!’ Usually my fiancé or whoever I take with me yells for me and tells people why we’re there, so when I’d get done, people would talk to me about it.
“No one’s a stranger, I guess, because everyone has to go through the same challenges when they’re running. People everywhere have been very helpful and really nice.”
One of the biggest challenges was not the running itself, but the planning and preparation that goes into scheduling all of the events.
“Some counties only have one race a year, so if you miss it, you have to plan ahead for next year,” Ellis said.
Since most races are early in the morning, Ellis and her supporters usually spent the night before the race in a hotel, and they sometimes planned multiple events in one weekend for counties that were furthest from Greenfield.
“If you drive that far, you might as well stay a couple days and hit more than one race,” Ellis said.
Ellis ran in as many as three events in one weekend on several occasions.
“I could do three on holiday weekends or when there was a morning and night race, then a race the next day,” Ellis said. “You kind of get used to it. Of course, at that time I was training for a half marathon, so it’s easy to do the 5Ks because it’s still less than you’d run training for a half.”
With the support of her friends and family and the excitement and adventure with planning her numerous trips, Ellis said reaching her goal was “easier than I thought it would be.”
“Every week I would post the number I was on, and everyone would comment, which was pretty encouraging,” Ellis said. “It was nice to see all the different parts of Ohio, and we tried to hit a lot of local sites and attractions. That was how I’d plan it: I’d see what we could do while we were there and the good places to eat.”
Planning fun activities for each trip helped encourage Ellis as well, especially when the weather was rainy or cold.
“If I did races in the rain, I’d focus on the cool stuff we get to do while we’re there,” Ellis said. “Every county had something new and different. There were a lot of presidential sites and stuff in the northwest corner that I hadn’t seen before. It’s crazy … you live in Ohio your whole life, and there’s a lot of place I’d never been.”
Ellis said that one race in Williams County was particularly difficult because it snowed during their trip.
“It hadn’t snowed on our way up, but in the morning there was snow and ice everywhere,” Ellis said. “At the race, they were like ‘It’s pretty slick, so just watch the ice. I guess people in northern Ohio are used to it.”
Now that she has run in all 88 counties, Ellis said that she hasn’t set a new goal yet and isn’t sure if she wants to tackle the challenge of running in all 50 states.
“For now, I think I’ll stay close to home and find interesting races to go to,” Ellis said.
Wendy Ellis, an art teacher for kindergarten through sixth grade students at Western Local Elementary in Pike County, said her inspiration for racing in each county started as “kind of a joke.” After one of her friends said she’d like to race in every state, Ellis’ curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t have time to travel across the country.
“She said, ‘You could probably do Ohio,”” Ellis said. “I said yeah, I’ve done several counties already. Then it became kind of a goal to do it and see how quickly I could get them.”
After four years and a lot of planning, Ellis reached her goal when she raced in the “Run with the Amish” at Miller’s Amish Furniture and Bakery in Adams County at the end of September.
Ellis said that she hasn’t always been interested in running, taking up the hobby about a year before setting her goal to run throughout the state. She started running as a fun way to socialize and spend time with friends and grew to love the sport.
“It was the camaraderie of it,” Ellis said. “Plus, it was something new to do. It was hard at first – I had to walk for some of it, then run. But the more I did it, the more fun it became. You get faster, and it gets easier.”
To reach her goal, Ellis ran in several different distance races, including 5K races, 10K races and half marathons.
“I haven’t done a full marathon yet,” Ellis said. “Maybe one day I can work myself up to that, but it’s a lot of training and work. But someday, I hope I can work my way up to running a marathon.”
When she first set the goal, Ellis said that she didn’t have a time frame in mind, just wanted to eventually reach the milestone. However, the more she ran, the more motivated she became.
“The more I did it, the more I wanted to hurry up, so it became an every week thing – ‘hey, we’re going somewhere,’” Ellis said.
Ellis said that once she set out to visit all 88 counties, she knew she wanted to finish with a race in a nearby county.
“I wanted to finish in one close to home once I started,” Ellis said. “That way, people who wanted to come could go.
“I had about 15 people come down to watch me [in Adams County], which was a pretty good turnout since it started at 8 a.m.”
That isn’t surprising, considering family and friends have been a huge support for Ellis throughout this journey, cheering her on in person or on social media and even running with her in some events. Ellis’ grandmother Patricia Smith, who also lives in Greenfield, has been by her side for many of the races.
“My grandma has done about half of the races with me,” Ellis said. “She went to most of the other ones she didn’t walk in, so she was still there, just not participating.”
In addition to her grandmother, Ellis’ sister also ran in several events with her. Ellis said that her fiancé and several of her friends were supportive and frequently traveled with her.
“I had two friends who would help me check off counties if no one else could go,” Ellis said. “They would say ‘how can I help?’ They would call around and find 5Ks for me.
“I’ve been really lucky. Most people have been really supportive, helping me find somewhere good to stay or someplace good to eat, helping me look up races or coming to watch me.”
Ellis couldn’t pick a favorite county event, saying they each had their own unique appeal, but she and her friends particularly enjoyed races with a fun theme, where they could dress up in costumes.
“They were all different,” Ellis said. “You either had a theme, or a really hard mountain you had to climb. You just never realize what you’re going to get from week to week when you show up.
“It’s fun to race at home, though, because you know everyone.”
Dressing up for a themed race also brought one of Ellis’ most memorable experiences, although she said it was initially a “really embarrassing” one.
“I did one not long ago in Guernsey County, a flamingo run, where I wore a flamingo outfit,” Ellis said. “I have a friend who was planning to run and dress up with me, but she’s six months pregnant and couldn’t go. I went and did it anyway, and she told me ‘dress up anyway.’ I went, and I was the only one dressed up.
“I felt really stupid, but all these people were coming up to me and hugging me. Everyone really loved it. More people showed up later who were dressed up, but at first it was really embarrassing.”
Ellis also ran in the “Shawshank Hustle” at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, where the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” was filmed. Other themed races included a “Leprechaun Chase” and an “Ugly Sweater Reindeer Run” in Vinton County.
“I must say, the reindeer run is the only time I have raced against a goat,” Ellis said. “Someone dressed their pet goat up as a reindeer.”
Over the past four years, Ellis has gotten to know a lot of other runners across the state, many of whom have learned about her goals and wished her well.
“I’ve seen a lot of the same people at different times,” Ellis said. “If I go to one county and then the neighboring county, they say ‘hey, there’s that girl that’s running in every county!’ Usually my fiancé or whoever I take with me yells for me and tells people why we’re there, so when I’d get done, people would talk to me about it.
“No one’s a stranger, I guess, because everyone has to go through the same challenges when they’re running. People everywhere have been very helpful and really nice.”
One of the biggest challenges was not the running itself, but the planning and preparation that goes into scheduling all of the events.
“Some counties only have one race a year, so if you miss it, you have to plan ahead for next year,” Ellis said.
Since most races are early in the morning, Ellis and her supporters usually spent the night before the race in a hotel, and they sometimes planned multiple events in one weekend for counties that were furthest from Greenfield.
“If you drive that far, you might as well stay a couple days and hit more than one race,” Ellis said.
Ellis ran in as many as three events in one weekend on several occasions.
“I could do three on holiday weekends or when there was a morning and night race, then a race the next day,” Ellis said. “You kind of get used to it. Of course, at that time I was training for a half marathon, so it’s easy to do the 5Ks because it’s still less than you’d run training for a half.”
With the support of her friends and family and the excitement and adventure with planning her numerous trips, Ellis said reaching her goal was “easier than I thought it would be.”
“Every week I would post the number I was on, and everyone would comment, which was pretty encouraging,” Ellis said. “It was nice to see all the different parts of Ohio, and we tried to hit a lot of local sites and attractions. That was how I’d plan it: I’d see what we could do while we were there and the good places to eat.”
Planning fun activities for each trip helped encourage Ellis as well, especially when the weather was rainy or cold.
“If I did races in the rain, I’d focus on the cool stuff we get to do while we’re there,” Ellis said. “Every county had something new and different. There were a lot of presidential sites and stuff in the northwest corner that I hadn’t seen before. It’s crazy … you live in Ohio your whole life, and there’s a lot of place I’d never been.”
Ellis said that one race in Williams County was particularly difficult because it snowed during their trip.
“It hadn’t snowed on our way up, but in the morning there was snow and ice everywhere,” Ellis said. “At the race, they were like ‘It’s pretty slick, so just watch the ice. I guess people in northern Ohio are used to it.”
Now that she has run in all 88 counties, Ellis said that she hasn’t set a new goal yet and isn’t sure if she wants to tackle the challenge of running in all 50 states.
“For now, I think I’ll stay close to home and find interesting races to go to,” Ellis said.