Calhoun ultra-runner to team with self-help author for 24 Hours of Hope fundraiser
On Friday, Oct. 16, Calhoun resident and ultra-runner Gregg Ellis will team up with David Clark, an ultra-runner from Denver, Colo. to participate in 24 Hours of Hope.
Funds raised from the event will benefit the Carter Hope Center, an alcohol and drug recovery center in Dalton.
“Carter Hope holds a spe- cial place in my heart, they gave me my life back,” said Ellis. “I know and understand the hardships that come with addiction. What the addict goes through, what the families go through. I want to raise funds to help sustain the center. We are very fortunate to have a place like Carter Hope in our community.”
The fundraiser was created six years ago and Ellis and his team have raised over $60,000 for the center in the five previous 24 Hours of Hope events.
“I was a former client at the center and this was my way of paying them back for helping to save my life,” said Ellis. “I want to show people that they can do whatever they put their mind to. The sky’s the limit.”
After the 45-year-old runner received a total hip replacement in 2013, he decided to prove just that, completing six 100-mile races and three 300-mile races, including a race running from Missouri to Georgia (314 miles). Ellis has completed eight races this year alone.
“Hip replacement wasn’t going to stop me from running in the 24 Hours of Hope,” said Ellis. “The show goes on.”
The 24 Hours of Hope will begin at 7 p.m. at Peak Fitness Center in Dalton and will end the following day, Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., totaling the 24-hour treadmill run.
“The event goals are to raise as much money for the Carter Hope Center and to bring awareness to our community about addiction and alcoholism. My personal goals are to have a great time, meet a lot of new people, share some laughs with old friends and to run 100 miles in those 24 hrs. We want to inspire people and give people HOPE,” said Ellis.
“We typically have anywhere from 500-800 people come through the doors in those 24 hours and usually have 250-300 people participate by running or walking alongside me on a treadmill,” said Ellis.
Clark, the other participant running the full 24 hours, is an inspiration as well. Being a recovering alcoholic and best selling author, he once weighed 320 pounds. After filing for bankruptcy, his wife divorced him, and he discovered some underlying health problems related to his addiction to alcohol, so he quit drinking and started walking. Walking turned into running and he lost half of his body weight and now weighs 160 pounds.
Clark has now been sober for 10 years and has turned his life around. His book, “Out There: A Story of UltraRecovery,” is number one on Kindle and Amazon in the self-help category.
Ellis and Clark invite everyone to the event, hoping to inspire others and remind them that there is hope for everyone, no matter your addictions. Every dollar raised for the event goes toward just that, at the 24 Hours of Hope event.