By Pat Crowley
Special to the NKyTribune
Two years ago Steve Schwalbach ran across Kentucky. Then he ran across Ohio. Now, he’s preparing to run across Florida.
Inspired by the memory of his late mother and driven by the desire to help others, Schwalbach plans to spend eight days running 230 miles running across Florida from Daytona Beach to Lido Beach.
This won’t be his first cross-state trek . In 2014, Schwalbach, the owner of a home construction business Fort Thomas, ran 210 miles north to south across Kentucky. A year later, he ran 328 miles across Ohio from near Cleveland south to Cincinnati.
Schwalbach’s Florida run, which is scheduled to begin today and end March 18, will benefit the Alzheimer’s Associations of Cincinnati and Florida Gulf Coast. Schwalbach hopes to raise $20,000 or more on his Florida run.
The event is called “Jackie’s Run,” named in honor of Schwalbach’s mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and passed away in 2015 at the age of 78.
Schwalbach, 48, a part-time resident of Longboat key near Sarasota, came up with the idea of a cross-state run about three years ago while visiting his mother.
“I was thinking, ‘What can I do to help her?’ She had been bedridden for more than two years,” he said. “I was saying prayers that had no answers. It was heartbreaking to see my mother like this.
“I knew she was not in pain but I was watching the mother that raised me and my five brothers and sisters slip slowly into death from this awful disease.”
He was training for a marathon the night he was visiting his mother and came up with the notion of running across the state of Kentucky.
“People told me there was no way I could do it,” Schwalbach said. “That just inspired me even more.”
Schwalbach, who stands 5-foot-10, ran cross-country in high school and continued to run in college. But he stopped running after college and packed on 240 pounds. After his wife convinced him to enter a Biggest Loser competition, he lost 50 pounds over two years by running.
“My goal was to run a marathon,” he said. “It was tough, but I really started enjoying running again. My training and dedication, along with the inspiration from my mother, is what drives me on these cross-state runs.”
Schwalbach’s Florida running schedule:
· Day 1, March 11 – 22 miles from Daytona Beach to New Smyrna
· Day 2, March 12 – 30 miles from New Smyrna to Sanford
· Day 3, March 13 – 30 miles from Sanford to Winter Garden
· Day 4, March 14 – 36 miles from Winter Garden to Polk City
· Day 5, March 15 – 30 miles from Polk City to Bartow
· Day 6, March 16 – 30 miles from Bartow to South of Lithia
· Day 7, March 17 – 33 miles from South of Lithia to East of Bradenton
· Day 8, March 18 – 23.5 miles from East of Bradenton to Lido Beach
A guest runner will join Schwalbach each day and supporters will track him in a pace car. About every four miles, he will stop for water and maybe a banana or sustenance.
“Running across Florida will be special for many reasons,” he said. “I spent a lot of time there growing up, so I have great memories of my mother there. She’ll be on my mind the whole time I’m running, thinking about her and how I want to help others with Alzheimer’s.”
For more information on Jackie’s Run, click here .