Despite cancellation of Run Across Haiti, Pittsburgh-area runners continue with event close to home

The country of Haiti is 1,550 miles from Pittsburgh, but a group of local runners who had hoped to participate in this year’s Run Across Haiti eight-day ultra-marathon were unable to travel that distance because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The event, organized since 2015 by the non-profit organization Work, raises money to help families from Haiti find jobs to rise above the poverty that affects a lot of the Caribbean country of nearly 12 million.

The travel restrictions didn’t stop the runners, however, as they have carried on with the Run Across May, a similar fundraising effort through Work which has had the runners complete the 200-mile effort in various increments throughout the month.

“We were challenged to run the 200 miles near our homes, and others with affiliation to the organization or who wanted to participate were asked to do 200 of anything,” said Danielle Marsh, an international marketing manager who lives in Edgewood.

“My mother has been doing 200 sit-ups each week. We have a lot of people doing 200 of something to support the Run Across May. It’s been really exciting to see the response.”

About 40 from the Pittsburgh area have been taking part in the 200 challenge along with others from throughout the U.S., Canada and Haiti.

Marsh, a Pitt graduate, said each of the runners have approached this effort differently. She has attempted to do about 10 miles a day with breaks built in. She has run at different times during the day and varied her running settings. She ran 24 miles one day in honor of a friend’s 24th birthday and ran 25 miles to support another friend who was running the same distance.

“Some people took a week or two off and ran it just like we had run it in Haiti,” Marsh said.

An ultra-marathon is any running race that is longer than the traditional marathon of 26.2 miles.

“I was fortunate, through the organization, to become one of the coaches this year. It’s what I do for a living, as I own a sports endurance coaching business,” said Matt Mauclair, 41, an Aspinwall resident, member of Work for the past four years and a three-time Run Across Haiti participant.

“It comes naturally to me to run and cycle and be active every day. It’s been meaningful to not only help the runners for our team who were supposed to be in Haiti and others, but to also be a presence on social media and our training platform, Strava, to give some motivational quotes and advice. It’s great for me to be able to raise money and give back wherever and whenever I can.”

Matt’s wife, Kristen, an elementary school teacher and board member for the local Work chapter, served on the support crew for last year’s run in Haiti. Admittedly not a runner herself, she instead is walking 200 blocks with her dog in her neighborhood for eight days to equal the eight days the runners would be traversing the course in Haiti.

“The campaign ‘200 Together’ is about doing whatever you can,” said Kristen, who also has shared a daily inspirational story on Facebook and Instagram connected to the Run Across May or the Run Across Haiti.

“We even got our students involved with the campaign. They’ve been doing things like 200 basketball shots during the month of May or 200 minutes a week practicing on their guitar. They really took to it as well.”

No matter the execution of the Run Across May, the mission is to raise money with the well being of the people of Haiti in mind. The money raised, Matt Mauclair and Marsh said, goes directly to the families in Haiti.

“It was really the charity aspect that drew me to the cause,” Marsh said. “I had never run an ultra, so I wasn’t in the market for that, but I like running. It’s an amazing opportunity to do something worthwhile in connection with an activity I love.”

Marsh recalled her experience last year running in Haiti with the hot weather, imperfect road conditions and terrain changes during the 200 miles from the northern to southern coasts.

“It was challenging, but my body responded well,” she said. “I learned a lot about the importance of nutrition during my training. We were so supported by the crew members on the ground with water, snacks and anything else we needed.

“We were running inside the reason for the charity. We could see the abject poverty in certain areas. We could also see the people responding positively to us running. Even during some of the challenging parts of the run, I had things like my gear, clothing, water and food that some in Haiti don’t have. They have been going through so much on a daily basis.”

Many runners, Marsh said, hope to return to Haiti in 2021.

For more information on the Run Across Haiti, the Run Across May and any other of Work’s fundraising efforts, visit dowork.org.