For Zeke Johnson, a love of running started with a hometown favorite 5k.
In 2016, Johnson ran the
Blue Streak Pride 5k.
He came in third place.
After that, he was hooked.
He reconnected with fellow Sandusky High School alum Daryl Murphy, who encouraged him to register for the Capital City Half Marathon. The two ran the race together, with Murphy pacing his friend for the full 13.1 miles.
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The HelmEric Jordan runs on the Sandusky Bay Pathway during a July 30 group run.After feeling that encouragement and camaraderie with Murphy, Johnson knew he had found his niche. And he knew he wanted to bring that feeling to others.
“Just getting involved with the running community…you run around Sandusky a lot and you see people here,” he says. “And then you start knowing people from going to the races and just being in the community.”
Johnson joined a running club in Columbus and wanted to bring that same vibe to Sandusky.
“Just being involved with them, and seeing the impact of the running community there, what it makes on the people there,” he says. “I wanted to kind of translate that here.”
While the area has a community built around running events like the
RUNDUSKY Race Series, there isn’t a club where people meet every week, Johnson says. That type of continuity can bring like-minded people together.
“I just want to really build a running community in Sandusky,” he says.
To forge that running community, Johnson, a 2009 SHS grad, started Keep Going Running Club, with its debut group run on July 30. The club meets at
NexXt Level FiT Academy–currently at 6 p.m. Tuesdays, although that is subject to change–and then follows a 2.5-mile loop from the gym through Washington Park, down East Washington Street, and along the Sandusky Bay Pathway.
All fitness levels are welcome to join and “keep going.”
“Keep going is kind of universal,” Johnson says of the club's name. “In anything, you can keep going. If I'm working out, I’m trying to push some reps. If I'm trying to encourage somebody, I'm telling them ‘Keep going.’ You hear it a lot when you’re running.
“If we're in a big race–a marathon, a half marathon–you hear people out there clapping, ‘Keep going, keep going!’ And it's just a good saying for not just sports or physical things, but for life in general,” he continues. “If you have goals in life, you want to keep going, you never want to quit, you never want to stop encouraging others, you always want to keep going toward your goals.”
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The HelmKyle Roth participates in a Tuesday night group run.And he lives by the “keep going” adage.
Johnson, 33, who lives in Sandusky with his wife and two children, ages 8 and 1, is a part-time trainer at
NexXt Level FiT Academy while also working in landscaping. While juggling his personal and professional obligations, he has found time to train for multiple marathons–five to date–with a personal record (PR) of 2:53:43 at the Chicago Marathon.
He’s passed that “keep going” mentality to his own kids. Johnson’s 8-year-old son, Kane, “is a very active young guy” who enjoys running, and also plays baseball, soccer, and basketball. He ran his first race–a one-miler–at Milan Melon Fest two years ago.
“He’s been excited about it ever since,” Johnson smiles.
Eventually, Johnson would like to start a non-profit so he can inspire youth, not just in the running community, but in the physical fitness and health and wellness spaces. He’d also like to work more with adults as well, but it all starts with the younger generation, he says.
“I believe that if we're able to tap in with the younger kids–kids that are excited and driven to do things, then they could change the minds of the adults,” Johnson says. “That’s the main goal–to grow this thing to where it’s involved in all of the races and all of the things going on in the community.”
Another goal of Johnson’s is to qualify for and run the prestigious Boston Marathon.
“We’ll get there,” he says.
All he’s got to do?
Keep Going.
The next race in the RUNDUSKY Race Series, NexXt Level Drea 5k, starts at 9 a.m. Sept. 1 at NexXt Level FiT Academy, 717 W. Washington St. Online registration is closed, but race day registration and packet pickup starts at 7:45 a.m. race day.