Cold, wet run on the North Country Trail raised $15,000 for a Nigerian family
Stasha Kaye watched the House for Hope Facebook page all through New Year’s Day to keep track of Jeff Karwoski and Micah Ramsey’s efforts to run 100 miles on the North Country Trail in the first 24 hours of 2022.
The self-directed ultra marathon came in response to a Nigerian family’s house fire that left two of its membersseverely burned and the home as cinders. The runners hoped to draw attention to the family’s needs and help aid organization Rural Watch Africa Initiative solicit $15,000 to rebuild the home, an effort discussed in detail in the Dec. 23 edition of goodness.
But as Mr. Karwoski’s business partner and best friend, Ms. Kaye, 45, of New Brighton, knew about the Uzor family’s plight long before goodness readers did. “Jeff called me the day he found out about the fire and the little girl,” she said. “He was almost crying on the phone. Something about reading it and seeing the pictures really touched him.”
None of that really surprised her, though. As she explains, Mr. Karwoski is the guy who stops his car to help when someone’s stranded on the side of the road. Or if he sees a kid walking around when it’s a little too dark, he’ll ask if he or she is OK.
“He’s just not the type of person to let something go when someone might need help,” she said. “He has this thing about him that’s like, ‘I will find the solution.’ ”
That track record of helping and their 25-year friendship caused her to repeatedly check Facebook on New Year’s Day. But one midafternoon check-in on the donations page made her call her friend immediately.
Mr. Karwoski and Mr. Ramsey happened to be at an aid station break, right around their 50th mile. They were eating lentils and beans and warming up from the day’s relentless rain inside the van Mr. Ramsey’s wife (and a few other volunteers) drove along the trail, meeting the men every 10 miles or so. Mr. Karwoski put her on speakerphone as she announced they’d reached $14,730, just $270 short of the goal.
The van erupted in cheers, which happened again when she told them she’d donated the rest of the money.
“I felt enormous relief,” said Mr. Karwoski. “When we got going with this, we had a tough time connecting the dots for people. We were both thinking, ‘If it goes on like this, we’re not going to hit our mark.’”
The other mark to hit was 100 miles on the North Country Trail — from Zoarville, Ohio, to a block away from Mr. Ramsey’s home in New Galilee, Pa. — though uncertainty creeped in starting three days before.
Mr. Karwoski was sick in bed for an entire day, then mostly recovered, when Mr. Ramsey caught the same bug on New Year’s Eve. “We both coughed through the whole entire run,” Mr. Karwoski said.
The outside temperature was in the 50s for most of the day, letting them begin the run, at the stroke of midnight, in shorts and a Tshirts. But the rain was less kind and soaked through each new set of clothing and shoes they put on, even drenching the high-end rain jackets they’d purchased. Then that evening, the temperature suddenly dropped. “By mile 65, we looked like we were ready to climb Everest. We couldn’t have put more clothes on,” Mr. Karwoski said.
He suffered a right knee injury at mile 62 that forced the runners to walk the rest of the way. The pain searing through their muscles became the least of their worries as it got colder and wetter.
“I was concerned about staying on the trails and not being able to run because you can’t keep up your body heat just walking when you’re soaked to the bone,” Mr. Ramsey said.
They decided the number 75 sounded good. Guided by Mr. Ramsey’s Garmin watch, they stopped after 21 hours and 75 miles. Though hugely symbolic to the duo, their 75th mile marker was just an isolated, nameless spot on the trail. There was no fanfare or applause, just the satisfaction that they’d exceeded their monetary goal. The continued donations, which are moving toward a $25,000 goal, will allow
RUWAI to build the Uzor family’s new home and outfit it with mattresses and appliances while providing the continued medical care the burn victims require.
With an accomplishment like that, reaching 75 miles versus 100 became a minor detail for all involved.
“Watching them train for the past three or four months, they’ve run so much more than 100 miles. I don’t care at all that they
didn’t reach 100 miles that day,” Ms. Kaye said. “Jeff’s done so much more for that family than just this. They’re a part of his life.”
To learn more about the House for Hope, visit the fundraiser page on the GlobalGiving platform or Mr. Karwoski and Mr. Ramsey’s Facebook page.