COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cincinnati educator Harvey Lewis celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day with a 5K virtual race with his dog Carly — who ran a personal best at 19 minutes, 37 seconds.
- Although runners are keeping their distance during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual races are bringing together a community regardless of their fitness level
- Cincinnati’s Harvey Lewis and Hubbard native Shari Summers are using virtual races to stay in shape during the quarantine, and prepare for future races in the summer
- Lewis is hopeful he’ll be able to compete in the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley National Park in July
It was just another walk in the park for this ultramarathon runner who's no stranger to logging 130 miles a week.
His first virtual race experience came on April 4th — the Quarantine Backyard Ultra, when he ran more than 145 miles and finished 14th overall out of 2,413 runners from 65 countries.
“These are events where you run a 4.167 mile loop every 60 minutes, and at some point you get so tired you say you can't go any longer. It actually really opened up my eyes to the possibility that, ok, during this transition period we're experiencing, we can do this. Really, when you're running, you're really competing against yourself,” said Lewis.
Across the state in Northeast Ohio, Shari Summers is preparing her own virtual Marathon May 3rd in her home town of Hubbard.
She was supposed to run in the now-cancelled 26.2 mile Pittsburgh Marathon scheduled to take place the same day.
Summers has prepared since mid-November and run 550 miles in anticipation of the marathon.
“Luckily they provided us the opportunity to run virtually, and so we will still get our medals and our t-shirts and recognition for doing all of the work. I'm going to stick with the original date and then still run my miles and accomplish what I set out to accomplish anyway, “ said Summers.
Summers says virtual runs are a great opportunity and there are plenty of websites that present a challenge and give you a goal to work towards.
“My daughter's swim team decided to run a couch to 5K, and then I thought, I think I can do that. You can go with your kids, your parents can do it, it's for everybody and we're not Olympians and i'm not even striving to be anywhere near that, but it's just such a good thing for your body and your mind,” said Summers.
And for Lewis, he's hopeful to get the chance in July to return to Death Valley National Park—the hottest place on the planet — to run the Badwater Ultramarathon for the 10th time.
He's encouraging others, no matter if they're a seasoned runner or armchair athlete, to challenge themselves to stay active.
“If you're not running, go out and walk, go out and bike. Use this time as an opportunity for some personal growth,” said Lewis.
You can follow Harvey Lewis’ journey on Facebook.