JAMBO JIPYA JACKRABBIT

Photos

Runners Matt Saulpaugh, Shane Eversfield and Steve Eldred.

Photo provided

LAKE PLACID — A 37-mile backcountry run was no problem for a couple of local ultra-marathoners, especially since they logged the miles for a good cause.

Steve Eldred, of Lake Placid, ran the entire length of the Jackrabbit Trail — from Paul Smiths to Keene — to raise money for Kenya’s Jambo Jipya school. Jambo Jipya is a school, run by a local Kenyan woman, for orphaned and at-risk children in Mtwapa, Kenya. The school is funded by the non-profit organization Reason2Smile, founded by Lake Placid’s Keela Dates. Dates and Eldred met at the Adirondack Community Church.

“I see how much time she puts toward this school and how strongly she feels,” Eldred said. “This world is small, we are all one. People are starving over there and we are sitting pretty over here.”

Eldred was accompanied by experienced ultra-marathoner and triathlete Shane Eversfield. Just before 8 a.m. on Oct. 17, the two set off from Paul Smiths. Friends joined them for a few miles here and there. At every point where the trail intersected a road, Eldred’s family and friends were waiting with food and drinks. The pair ran through wetlands, hopscotched along railroad tracks, passed through two villages, jogged across golf courses, over mountain passes, past towering rock cliffs and through beaver meadows, emerging from the woods at Rock and River in Keene nine hours and 45 minutes later.

“I think my favorite part was the end — Old Mountain Road to Rock and River,” Eldred said. “It was gorgeous.”

But the idea to do the run as a benefit for Jambo Jipya was not Eldred’s. He took the project over from another church friend, Sara View.

“She got in a car accident a couple months ago and was not able to do it,” Eldred explained. “That’s when I said, ‘This a good cause and let’s build on this.’”

This was the first ultra-marathon for Eldred, who completed the 2008 Ironman Lake Placid. The 26.2-mile leg of that race was the farthest he had ever run until the day of the Jackrabbit run. Eldred entered the 2009 Ironman Lake Placid, but missed the swim cutoff time by minutes because of a disability that affects his left arm.

“I was going to run the whole thing with him, especially knowing Ironman had gone the way it had for him,” Eversfield said. “This was like the redemption. I was going to be there 100 percent.”

Originally created as a cross-country ski route, the Jackrabbit Trail winds its way through the wilderness from Paul Smiths to Keene, passing through Lake Clear, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. Despite a long day traversing the backcountry of the Adirondack Park, neither Eldred or Eversfield complained about the difficulty or ever doubted for a second they would finish.

“When you do that kind of distance, you get to see people start to break down,” Eversfield said. “But Steve didn’t break down at all. His pace was the same at the end as it was in the beginning. I’m amazed.”

Blogging about it later, Eversfield said he suspects the fact they were running for charity helped mitigate any pain and warded off negative thoughts. Just three days later, neither said they were sore.

“I think a big part of it was because of the purity of the intent,” he said. “It was like divine guidance, basically.”

The event raised more than $500 for Reason2Smile, but more than the money, the Jackrabbit run helped raise awareness about the school. Education is free in Kenya, but students must have the money for school supplies and uniforms if they are to attend. Reason2Smile strives to raise $5,000 a month to keep the school running. Jambo Jipya recently met one of its goals — buying more land.

“Our school is on one-third of an acre, so it’s just jam-packed,” Dates said. “We bought 23 acres and our goal is to start building on the land.”

Eldred and Eversfield completed the Jambo Jipya Jackrabbit, as they call it, less than a month ago, but they are already busy planning to do it again next year. This year’s event was pulled off with little notice or planning, but with more time, the two hope to make it a premier ultra-marathon event. Pending state Department of Environmental Conservation permits, they plan on having three options for next year: an ultra marathon run for individuals, a relay for teams and a hike. Involving people of all ages in the event is also a priority. Eldred said he would also like to improve the Jackrabbit Trail signage, especially around the Paul Smith’s Visitors Interpretive Center, where they took a wrong turn or two.

For now, Eldred is happy to be able to raise money for a good cause by doing something he enjoys.

“(An ultra-marathon) is something I’ve always kind of wanted to do,” he said. “I think I’ll do more now.”