running Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Blind Jefferson County Runner Races For Gold

Jefferson County resident Keryl Rustin is an avid 5K runner, recently winning a gold medal at the West Virginia Senior Sports Classic and also qualifying for the National Senior Games after competing in the Maryland Senior Olympics. What makes her stand out, though, is that she’s successful despite having lost her ability to see.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Snyder: Starting off, I was wondering if you could introduce yourself.

Rustin: My name is Keryl Rustin. I began running during the month of November 2020. And during that time, I wasn’t participating in any marathons, I was just actually running. And I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I would like to participate in 5K runs. With me beginning this entire path of running, it started with my granddaughter, who was seven years old at the time, and her name is Gabbi. And she would actually run with me. And she would tell me if there was gravel in the road, or if cars were coming, and also, when to actually not run so fast, whereby there were obstacles in the road. And the reason for this is because I am blind.

Snyder: What organization did you get involved with as far as going out for competitive running?

Rustin: Well, I actually did not get involved with any organizations. I began running, as I said, with my granddaughter. And then when I decided that I wanted to run marathons, I knew I needed a trainer. And I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get a trainer. I made many, many calls. The calls weren’t returned. And I don’t know whether or not it’s because of my age, because with me being blind, I’m also 73 years of age. And I would call various running organizations and explain to them that I am trainable, and this is something that I really wanted to do. Just the courtesy of a return call would have been appreciated. But I didn’t get any return calls. And being the determined person that I am, I decided that I’m gonna go ahead and try running competitively, regardless. And that’s how I ended up being where I am now.

Snyder: And what competitions did you end up running for?

Rustin: The competitions I began becoming involved with were actually fundraisers. So I ran for veterans, I did runs for (the) homeless, I also did runs for abused women. So in other words, from November of 2020, until now, I have actually participated in over 10, maybe 12 runs, which I have medals for. But one of the ones that I want to point out, which is of great significance, is that I did my first official, documented run for the Maryland Senior Olympics. I did that run last year, and I am the first blind person, 73 years of age, who has ever done a 5K run (in the Maryland Senior Olympics).

Snyder: That’s incredible. I was also curious, what was the training process for that like? Can you take me through the process of training for running for a 5k?

Rustin: Since it was just my granddaughter and I, there really was no process for me. What I did is that I went on my intuition the majority of the time. So I would begin my mornings, usually around 6:30 in the Morning. And that’s all contingent upon whether or not she was in school. Six thirty in the morning would be during the summer months. Of course, with her being in school, I would start at a later time. And then with me starting at a later time, she wasn’t there to run with me.

So my runs, my training, for me, consisted of – the first thing I always do is say a prayer. I always say a prayer before I get out there to run. And from that point on, I’ll do some stretching. So for an example, I’ll do some lunges, I will go ahead and I will do some squats, then what I would do is various arm exercises. I included some yoga with those stretches in the mornings as well. And then when I usually get out there to run, I usually run for about 90 minutes. I actually am doing over a 5K run in the morning when I’m doing the 90 minutes. And there is no particular course or anything. I just get out and I run.

Snyder: Did you set out to win anything when you first started? Or was this just a way to take care of your health and stay in shape?

Rustin: I did not have any goals in mind other than I enjoyed it. What was important to me is the enjoyment of running. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard people talk about the runner’s high you actually get, that’s what would happen to me. So with me actually getting out there in the mornings and doing my runs, it actually rejuvenated me for the remainder of the day.

Snyder: I was also wondering if there were any kind of unique challenges in preparing for the 5K. I’m sure a lot of people assume that it must be harder for you to prepare for an athletic event like this because A, you’re a senior, and B, you’re blind. So how did you overcome these challenges in preparing, if there were any at all?

Rustin: Well, I still haven’t overcome them, to be perfectly honest with you. Every time I get out there and run – every, every time I get out there and run, and I’m emphasizing that, I still have challenges. So for example, before I get out there and run, as I said, I always do a prayer. But even with me doing the prayer, I still feel intimidated. I start thinking negative thoughts. For example: “Okay, Keryl. Can you really do this? Is it really worthwhile? Why have you decided to do something like this? Why are you putting so much stress on yourself?” So I still have my challenges every single day before I do a run. I have never, and I don’t think there ever will be a time that I can honestly say that I have overcome the challenges. And not because I am blind. And not because I’m 73 years of age. I think with any athlete, when you’re out there and you’re beginning to participate in whatever your choice of athletics is, you’re always gonna have that feeling of intimidation and trepidation. That feeling of, you know, questioning whether or not you can actually achieve it.

Snyder: What emotions were going through your head when you ended up completing that 5K?

Rustin: I cried. I cried because, for me, it was surreal. After all that I had gone through as far as training myself, as far as my granddaughter being so attentive and encouraging me, because when I would be out there running, she would run with me at seven years old. She would be saying things to me like, “Grandma, you can do this. You got it. I know you can,” things like that. And that was my cheerleader. I didn’t have anyone else. It was just surreal because I couldn’t believe that I actually did it. Particularly since I did not have a trainer.

Rustin at the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She qualified after participating in the Maryland Senior Olympics.

Snyder: Completing this qualified you for the National Senior Games. Is that correct?

Rustin: Correct.

Snyder: What was that experience like?

Rustin: That experience was just a very positive experience for me. Because what it did, it gave me the confidence in knowing that, ‘Hey, you know what, Keryl, you did the Maryland Senior Olympics, you qualified for the Maryland Senior Olympics, you can go even further if you choose to. So it gave me that enormous push, as far as that confidence that I needed, in order for me to participate in the National Senior Games.

Snyder: Did you have any other closing remarks before we go ahead and finish?

Rustin: In order to win, you have to begin. And I want to thank everyone as far as my granddaughter and also thank (my guide) Kriya. She was the one who actually did that run with me, in order for me to receive this gold medal from the West Virginia Senior Sports Classic. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I could have achieved it. That was the most difficult run that I had ever done. That one was done at Kanawha State Forest. And to do a run in a forest was very, very challenging for me. So this medal is not all about me, Keryl Rustin. This medal is about all of those many, many people who are visually impaired, who are physically challenged, who are seniors. This medal represents them. These are the people who definitely need to know that, no matter what, you can still get out there, find something that you enjoy doing, become active in it, and just go for it.

Running, History, & Community – Harpers Ferry Race Attracts Hundreds

There’s a group based in Jefferson County, West Virginia focused not only on improving health and wellness but also on incorporating the local community and history into that health experience.

How Does Running Impact Our Health?

West Virginia is one of the top four states in the nation where the obesity rate makes up more than 35 percent of the adult population; that’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, between 2011 and 2015, the obesity rate in both West Virginia adults and high school-aged kids increased by 3 percent.

But in Jefferson County there’s a group trying to combat those numbers by hosting events focused on running.

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella is a professor of Family Medicine at West Virginia University, a runner, and the force behind the Freedom’s Run Series of Events.

Cucuzzella’s spring race was held last Saturday. It was a rainy, cold morning, but still hundreds of people came out for the Harpers Ferry Half Marathon, 5k, and Kids Run.

Cucuzzella started his running series eight years ago, in part, to help encourage healthy living and exercise in West Virginians.

“Physical activity is just good for your brain, good for your body, does good for everything,” Cucuzzella explained.

According to the CDC, adults need about 75 minutes of a vigorous aerobic activity per week, like jogging or running, to help maintain a healthy weight. Cucuzzella says what we eat also plays a big part in our health.

“Really, if we’re gonna tackle obesity, we’ve gotta look at what people are eating and what we’re feeding folks,” he noted.

History in the Race

There’s another theme to Cucuzzella’s races that he hopes will help get people out and moving – and that’s by incorporating the local Civil War history in the courses, and, at the same time, help boost tourism in the state.

“If you talk to people, they’ve come from all over the country, because this is a special place,” he said, “There’s history on almost every step of this course. This goes through Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, by John Brown’s Fort, pretty much touches every area of Harpers Ferry Park, and historic Bolivar, so they get to see things from the Civil War era.”

(left to right) Dubem, Ike, & Uche Akunyli. The Akunyli family is originally from Nigeria but moved to Frederick, Maryland two years ago. Dubem ran in Saturday’s Kids Run, and Uche ran in the 5k.

Of the 658 registered runners from Saturday’s event, 68 percent were from 23 other states and Canada. Some of the racers traveled from far away, but some live closer like Dubem Akunyli who lives in Frederick, Maryland.

Akunyli ran in the Kids Run, which is one mile, and he says he loves visiting Harpers Ferry.

“It’s really cool, and it’s really cool about knowing about John Brown and his raid, so it’s very interesting here, and it’s really nice, like with the trees, and all of the mountains,” Akunyli said.

Cucuzzella says a big part of his spring race is that any child under 17-years-old can run for free.

“Running is a sport that’s accessible to the entire world, in developed and developing countries. There should be no barriers to letting a kid line up and run, and some of the best runners in the world have been raised, you know, with countries where the gross domestic product would be less than our entire state of West Virginia,” he noted, “Running is the way out for a lot of kids.”

Community Involvement

The local community also plays a large role in Cuccuzzella’s races. Restaurants, coffee shops, and others come out on race day to provide food and drinks. Local groups volunteer their time to cheer on the racers and help with registration.

Even the medallions awarded to the runners who participated in the Harpers Ferry Half Marathon and the Freedom’s Run in the fall are made locally.

That local potter is Joy Bridy. She lives in Shenandoah Junction, which is a few miles from Shepherdstown.

Local potter Joy Bridy presses wet clay into a mold that says, “Freedom’s Run.” She also made the 500 medallions for the “Harpers Ferry Half Marathon.”

Bridy says it’s an honor to be part of the races, and she hopes by awarding handmade medals, it adds a little something extra.

“I think that it makes the race a unique experience, and people are looking for authenticity and unique experiences that really reflect the place where they’re going,” Bridy said, “so being able to run the C&O Canal and run up through Antietam, the battlefields, it really gives you a sense of where you are, and I think for West Virginia, we are in a very unique area, especially this panhandle; it’s not like anywhere else in the state, and it’s not really like Maryland or Virginia either, so we have a really unique, little place here.”

Bridy made 500 medallions for the Harpers Ferry Half Marathon. She will make 1500 for the Freedom’s Run. Bridy makes each medallion by hand and says making them is her “own marathon.”

Even though only a third of Saturday’s racers were West Virginia residents, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella hopes as his race series enters its ninth year, it will spark even more community involvement and continue to promote health in the state.

The 26.2 mile Freedom’s Run will be held on September 30, 2017.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

He’ll Make You Want to Lace Up Those Running Shoes

Last fall Bill Warner of Beckley was running through the woods of Thurmond when suddenly he noticed “a big ole black bear” just 10-12 feet away.

“I set a new age group record that day,” he laughs.

Bill is 60 years old and an ultra – marathoner – running up to 50-mile races – and winning!

Just this year he won first place in his age group against 118 runners at the USA 25k Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Then there was the Chicago Marathon where Bill placed first in his age group of 510 runners, and 769^th out of the total 38, 871 runners.

He’s also repeatedly placed first in his age group in the Charleston Distance Run.

“I have this thing that I will allow no one with gray hair to beat me,” Bill explained with a smile.

But those are road races and Bill prefers to run on trails, saying the trail runner must constantly be thinking about his next step or else he’ll end up “eating dirt.”

One of the things that’s so remarkable about this extreme athlete is that he’s only been running for 6 years – after a 33 year hiatus.

Bill is a recovering alcoholic, sober now for about 10 years.

“I got tired of that life and quite honestly I got on my knees and I turned it over,” he said.

“Life is too precious to waste.”

So Bill runs almost every day now, even in the snow, by himself or with family members and his dogs.

He battled a lung infection that required major surgery 2 years ago, but came back stronger and remarkably, even faster!

“God gave me a gift, and I’m simply using that gift to his glory.”

Shutdown may affect upcoming marathon

The federal government shutdown could possibly impact the upcoming Freedom’s Run marathon in the Eastern Panhandle if the shutdown is still going on at the end of next week. But the Marathon will continue regardless of whether the government’s closed.

This is the fifth year for the marathon and one of its main attractions is the route it takes through four national parks. Those parks are closed because of the federal government shutdown. But there is a contingency plan.

“It’s something that when you plan for an event like this for a year you run through all your contingencies and think of things you can control and this one didn’t come into the radar until about 10 days ago,” Mark Cucuzzella, Freedom’s Run director, said. “So yes if there is a government shutdown we will not be able to use the parks.”

Cucuzzella is hoping for a quick resolution to the shutdown but said organizers have mapped out “a really nice alternate route” for runners to use if the federal government is still closed the day of the event, Oct. 12, 2013.

“So the show will go on and I think this will be a good stance of solidarity to health and fitness and community doesn’t stop when the government decides they can’t figure things out and come to agreement,” he said.

Freedom’s Run offers a one mile kids run, a 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon. The number of participants is capped at 25 hundred for the four races and Cucuzzella said close to that number is signed up.

The afternoon and evening before the race there are several events in Shepherdstown, W.Va. and at Shepherd University. A pre-race pasta dinner will feature a talk by West Virginian Jamie Summerlin.

“And Jamie ran across the country last year to raise money for military foundations and he just wrote a book called Freedom Run,” Cucuzzella said. “So he’s very generously offered to come here and speak at the pasta dinner, share his story. He’s going to run the race too.”

There will also be a free screening of the film In the High Country, which followed runner Anton Krupicka for a year as he lived and ran in the mountains. Krupicka and filmmaker Joel Wolpert will be there.

“I think what will be really cool is they’ll answer questions from the audience and talk about how to make a movie,” Cucuzzella said. “Meet Anton, he’s kind of an icon in the ultra-running world, one of the best ultra-marathoners in the world and people will be coming from all over just to meet Anton.”

Cucuzzella calls Krupicka “kind of a cult figure out there, (who) travels, sleeps in his truck and runs up and down mountains when the spirit hits him.”

“Probably a lot of us wish we had that kind of life where we don’t have to be at work at seven o’clock every day,” he said.

Freedom’s Run is featured in last month’s Running World Magazine and Cucuzzella said he’s excited that a little event he started five years ago to raise money for trails and gardens for schools is gaining national attention.