Adam Cordell runs marathon for charity

29-year-old Adam Cordell originally planned to participate in this year's Boston Marathon, but he was forced to change his plans when the marathon was postponed due to COVID-19.

Instead of giving up, he decided that if he couldn't go the marathon, he'd just make one, instead.

"I decided to run a marathon, then all of a sudden my mom came up to me, and she's like: 'While we're at it, why don't we start raising funds, why don't we do some good for this?'" he said. "So I partnered with her and for the past week or so, we've been getting donations for the Food Bank of the Rockies."

Cordell established a 26.2 mile course -- the same distance as the Boston Marathon -- that spanned all around Cheyenne.

He headed off from his home at approximately 8 A.M. and reached his destination, Lion's Park, shortly before 11 A.M., a large crowd having gathered to cheer him on.

This wasn't his first marathon, either; Cordell placed first out of 154 runners in the previous Cheyenne Marathon.

Cordell, who works as a physical education teacher at Baggs and Fairview Elementary Schools, said he trains everyday to keep himself in shape for runs like these.

"I run about a hundred miles a week, anywhere between seven and twenty-two miles a day. So, I mean, it's just a grind, but I love it."

Cordell received roughly $8,000 in donations for the run, which Blue Federal Credit Union and the Blue Foundation matched, leading to a total of $16,000 raised for the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies.

"The community of Cheyenne came out. They practiced social distancing. They stayed far enough away from each other, but 26.2 miles is a lot...It was awesome."

Cordell still plans to participate in the Boston Marathon, which is now scheduled for September.

posted Tuesday April 21st
by Anthony Talcott