COVID-19 has hit everyone hard. That includes distance runners, who have seen races they were training months for, cancelled.
But it didn’t cancel one Cleveland woman's marathon.
When Ashley King hit the pavement last weekend, it was supposed to be a covert make-up operation, It turned out to be anything but.
All of her neighbors and friends were waiting for her with signs, water, chalk messages, cheers and words of encouragement as she ran her 26 miles. Some even ran with her.
King didn't just run the race for herself — she used it as an opportunity to help others. Her neighbor, who owns a local chain of restaurants, came up with the idea of donating a meal to a local health care worker for every mile King ran.
Her husband, Jonathan, then set up a GoFundMe to raise money for even more meals, and they raised just over $1,500. They’ll use the money to purchase gift cards so the health care workers can buy meals for themselves and their families.
Check out the video and pictures below.