Chellie has committed to run the equivalent of six marathons in six days as part of the 2013 MS Run the US relay, which kicks off April 15 in Los Angeles, Calif. and concludes Sept. 6 in New York City, New York.
Chellie and 21 other participants each have a segment of the country to cover. Chellie’s leg will span from Los Angeles, Calif. to Barstow, Calif.
The runners are hoping to raise $500,000 to help cure multiple sclerosis.
BR: So how did you get hooked up with this event?
CHELLIE: Two years ago, I met a girl who was trying to get a lot of fitness professionals to work together more. Ashley and I became really good friends through that process, and I learned about her charity, MS Run the US. Ashley’s mom was diagnosed with MS in her adult life. So many people get diagnosed late in life. It is a very life-altering disease for the individual and their family. Every day someone new is diagnosed with MS. People are suffering from it. Often, their symptoms parallel other diseases so it is missed for a long time and goes untreated. Simple changes in nutrition and exercise can relieve symptoms and provide help. She gained the awareness of that and also knowing MS is unfortunately not uncommon. Through that experience, Ashley decided she wanted to do something to get involved and help those people.
BR: So how did she decide a run across the country was what she wanted to do?
CHELLIE: Ashley was an athlete in college. In 2010, she decided she wanted to run across the United States for her mom. She shared her story with me and I told her I would love to be involved by helping to spread the word and fundraise. She gave me a call and told her it was going to be a relay and wanted to know if I would be a runner. She told me it would be six marathons in six days. I just wasn’t sure, so I told her maybe.
BR: What made you change your “maybe” into a “yes?”
CHELLIE: Awhile later, we were at a coffee shop working on something. She was abnormally quite. Eventually she told me that she didn’t think she had enough runners to actually make the run happen. She thought she could only cover half of the US. She was just feeling defeated. I gave her my best coach’s motivational speech and pumped her back up. She told me that she was super excited, and if I could make her that excited that I could run the six marathons in six days. I went to bed that night and woke up knowing she was right. If anyone is more equipped than me they were probably already running. I know about nutrition and training to effectively and safely run it. I have the time. There was no reason I shouldn’t do it for her and for this charity.
BR: So what did you do after you committed to running?
CHELLIE: Two weeks before Christmas, I officially went through application process and got accepted as a runner. It was pretty surreal. I went through the interview process and was presented with the offer. Of course I was jumping up and down. Then I hung up the phone and was like holy crap. I have to run six marathons. I have never even run one before. I have always enjoyed running. I have run larger distances. But NEVER been an ultra-runner. I went into panic mode for a few hours. When I finally settled down, I started writing down what it would take and the time I had.
BR: When you realized what it would take, what did you do next?
CHELLIE: I started training that week. And I haven’t looked back since. I currently am training five days a week. I build miles anywhere from 3-5 hours a week. I do a distance run 2-3 days a week. This week I am doing two eight-mile runs back-to-back days, then strength training two days and then speed/interval/form training one day. In total right now, I am going about 12 hours a week. But that will increase as I start hitting double-digit mileage.
BR: It sounds like you have the training part on lockdown. What is going to be the toughest part about this run for you?
CHELLIE: Knowing I could be alone running for six days straight. It is a very terrifying thing. Even on my long runs, it isn’t the fact I feel like I can’t run the full marathons. It is waking up every day and doing it over and over again. I am going into this knowing I could be doing it alone for all six days on the road. If no one comes out and supports in that region, I will run alone every day. And I had to accept it. I have talked to several ultra-runners and they recommended books on tape. I will listen to those while I run.
BR: What can people do to get involved and help you out as you embark on this mission?
CHELLIE: We need for everyone to get involved with it. Our runners are going across the country. Every city we stop at is listed on msruntheus.com and we are looking for people who can connect us within the communities we are running through, be it with high schools, community official, churches, etc. We are counting on communities to come out and run with us! People run every day. We would love for you to hit the road with us. That support as we go cross-country is really big.
BR: What about on the fundraising side of things?
CHELLIE: There will also be a variety of events in the Milwaukee area. I am hosting a few volleyball clinics and the funds will be going directly to MS Run the US. Anyone who wants to help host a fundraiser or are willing to send out information, donate gym space or anything like that, I would love to talk to them. I will run as many clinics as possible. 100% of profits go right to MS research. Sponsors pay for the RV, gas, food, etc. None of the money we raise is used on the operations of the relay, which is really cool.
Check out the MS Run the US website for city listings and additional information about the relay.
To follow Chellie’s journey, check out her blog.
To donate to Chellie’s run and MS Run the US, click here.
BR: So how did you get hooked up with this event?
CHELLIE: Two years ago, I met a girl who was trying to get a lot of fitness professionals to work together more. Ashley and I became really good friends through that process, and I learned about her charity, MS Run the US. Ashley’s mom was diagnosed with MS in her adult life. So many people get diagnosed late in life. It is a very life-altering disease for the individual and their family. Every day someone new is diagnosed with MS. People are suffering from it. Often, their symptoms parallel other diseases so it is missed for a long time and goes untreated. Simple changes in nutrition and exercise can relieve symptoms and provide help. She gained the awareness of that and also knowing MS is unfortunately not uncommon. Through that experience, Ashley decided she wanted to do something to get involved and help those people.
BR: So how did she decide a run across the country was what she wanted to do?
CHELLIE: Ashley was an athlete in college. In 2010, she decided she wanted to run across the United States for her mom. She shared her story with me and I told her I would love to be involved by helping to spread the word and fundraise. She gave me a call and told her it was going to be a relay and wanted to know if I would be a runner. She told me it would be six marathons in six days. I just wasn’t sure, so I told her maybe.
BR: What made you change your “maybe” into a “yes?”
CHELLIE: Awhile later, we were at a coffee shop working on something. She was abnormally quite. Eventually she told me that she didn’t think she had enough runners to actually make the run happen. She thought she could only cover half of the US. She was just feeling defeated. I gave her my best coach’s motivational speech and pumped her back up. She told me that she was super excited, and if I could make her that excited that I could run the six marathons in six days. I went to bed that night and woke up knowing she was right. If anyone is more equipped than me they were probably already running. I know about nutrition and training to effectively and safely run it. I have the time. There was no reason I shouldn’t do it for her and for this charity.
BR: So what did you do after you committed to running?
CHELLIE: Two weeks before Christmas, I officially went through application process and got accepted as a runner. It was pretty surreal. I went through the interview process and was presented with the offer. Of course I was jumping up and down. Then I hung up the phone and was like holy crap. I have to run six marathons. I have never even run one before. I have always enjoyed running. I have run larger distances. But NEVER been an ultra-runner. I went into panic mode for a few hours. When I finally settled down, I started writing down what it would take and the time I had.
BR: When you realized what it would take, what did you do next?
CHELLIE: I started training that week. And I haven’t looked back since. I currently am training five days a week. I build miles anywhere from 3-5 hours a week. I do a distance run 2-3 days a week. This week I am doing two eight-mile runs back-to-back days, then strength training two days and then speed/interval/form training one day. In total right now, I am going about 12 hours a week. But that will increase as I start hitting double-digit mileage.
BR: It sounds like you have the training part on lockdown. What is going to be the toughest part about this run for you?
CHELLIE: Knowing I could be alone running for six days straight. It is a very terrifying thing. Even on my long runs, it isn’t the fact I feel like I can’t run the full marathons. It is waking up every day and doing it over and over again. I am going into this knowing I could be doing it alone for all six days on the road. If no one comes out and supports in that region, I will run alone every day. And I had to accept it. I have talked to several ultra-runners and they recommended books on tape. I will listen to those while I run.
BR: What can people do to get involved and help you out as you embark on this mission?
CHELLIE: We need for everyone to get involved with it. Our runners are going across the country. Every city we stop at is listed on msruntheus.com and we are looking for people who can connect us within the communities we are running through, be it with high schools, community official, churches, etc. We are counting on communities to come out and run with us! People run every day. We would love for you to hit the road with us. That support as we go cross-country is really big.
BR: What about on the fundraising side of things?
CHELLIE: There will also be a variety of events in the Milwaukee area. I am hosting a few volleyball clinics and the funds will be going directly to MS Run the US. Anyone who wants to help host a fundraiser or are willing to send out information, donate gym space or anything like that, I would love to talk to them. I will run as many clinics as possible. 100% of profits go right to MS research. Sponsors pay for the RV, gas, food, etc. None of the money we raise is used on the operations of the relay, which is really cool.
Check out the MS Run the US website for city listings and additional information about the relay.
To follow Chellie’s journey, check out her blog.
To donate to Chellie’s run and MS Run the US, click here.
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