An Impromptu Marathon to Empower Single Moms

Last weekend, several young women from the Barrington area got together to run an impromptu marathon to raise money for Fellowship Housing. Anna & Gabby Cossio, Addi Coy, Abby Raynor and Lucy Ordway are all current or ex-Barrington High School athletes, each from a different graduating class. Four of the women were Track & Field teammates, and 3 now run at the collegiate level. 

What inspired this run for good? Ever since high school and NCAA sports were cancelled in March, Anna and Addi have been working out together. Without access to a track, they've had to improvise! Although sprinters in college, they incorporated longer runs into their workout routine to keep from getting into a rut during the extended off-season. As an added challenge, Anna's sister, Gabby, came up with the idea of attempting to run one mile every hour, for 24 hours! Noticing they would be just barely short of a full marathon, they decided to add an extra 2.2 miles within the day. Addi suggested using the running challenge as a platform for supporting a local organization. Anna's response? "We were quick to choose Fellowship Housing. Gabby and I were on the Student Board for Fellowship Housing while in high school, and our father is currently on the Board of Directors; therefore, we had first-hand experience with the mission, programs, and impact of Fellowship Housing, and were confident that every dollar would go directly to advancing the lives of single mothers and their families."

To encourage others to get involved, the women planned 10am and 4pm “community runs” in Citizen’s Park and promoted them through their Instagram Stories. They invited their friends and families to join in on the fun and were honored to have 25 people run for either one or both miles, including two of their high school track coaches.

While sitting outside of the downtown Barrington Starbucks after mile 10, they had a great conversation with a couple of police officers. They shared, "It was so cool to share what we were doing, and spread the word about Fellowship Housing. Regardless of their level of familiarity with the organization - or even with how many miles are in a marathon - every person we talked to throughout the day was excited to learn what we were doing!"

Another of their Track & Field teammates, Caitlin Feely, bravely joined in mid-way through the challenge. She ran the last 13 miles, and helped motivate them during a midday rut.

At the end of the marathon, they had raised over $5,415. Anna said, "We were blown away by all of the generous donors! Many of them were not previously familiar with Fellowship Housing, but loved learning about the programs they offer and were excited to support." Anna, Gabby, Addi, Abby and Lucy, we're incredibly grateful for your creativity, hard work and community outreach to empower single moms through Fellowship Housing!