Normally, overcast weather is not something people look forward to, but Jared Ellerbrock was overjoyed when he saw clouds overhead as he lined up for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon this fall. That wasn’t the only reason he was excited, though.
The 41-year-old Dublin resident has been running marathons since 2007, making it his goal to one day run a marathon in each of the 50 states.
This past October, he met that goal – even completing the race within his goal time – when he crossed the finish line in Columbus in 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Looking back to when he first started running, Ellerbrock says, he never planned on being a part of so many races.
He originally got into running because his brother, Matt, wanted to help him get fit. He created exercise routines for Ellerbrock and then convinced him to sign up for a race with him.
When Ellerbrock couldn’t beat his brother, he made it his goal to get better, which meant he had to run more races. He started out only doing two or three marathons a year, but eventually stepped things up and began running as many as five or six.
“Knowing logistically how difficult it is to travel to all these, I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to start doing as many as I can,’” Ellerbrock says.
After his daughter, Elsie, and son, Ethan, were born in 2011 and 2013 respectively, Ellerbrock’s
trips became fewer and had longer breaks in between them.
Determined not to let his goal slip away, Ellerbrock changed how he looked for races, working to include his family more by coordinating with family trips.
Despite these efforts, his wife, Gayle, and their kids have only been able to see him race a few times, but those races hold a special place in his heart.
One of Ellerbrock’s favorite memories was when Elsie joined him near the end of a marathon in Delaware.
“She was maybe 3 or 4 at the time,” Ellerbrock says. “They were there, about a few yards from the finish line, and she jumped in with me and ran across the finish line with me.”
Not all of the races recall fond memories – for example, he once had to run all 26.2 miles in the rain – but Ellerbrock says the people he has been able to meet over the years bring him joy.
Over the past few years, as Ellerbrock marked more races off his list, people began asking him when he was going to do one in Ohio. His answer was that he didn’t know.
Ellerbrock never had a set plan for his Ohio marathon until his sister recommended he save it for last. Her idea was that if it was his final race, his friends and family could throw him a party afterward.
On the day of his final race, Ellerbrock was surprised when he saw his family along the course. They had all gotten T-shirts made to show their support as they cheered him on.
“That’s not something that normally happens, because normally I’m traveling, (and) a lot of times, I’m by myself,” Ellerbrock says. “You can see a lot of people, but there’s nobody that you know. So that was cool (they were there.)”
Ellerbrock is grateful for all the support his family has given him over the years, and hopes to return that love by supporting his kids as they start to get more involved with their own interests.
Although he still plans to do more races – with the hope of racing in Germany and Japan someday – Ellerbrock says his main focus for now is on his children and being there for them as much as he can.
Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.
