Evelyn Smith, 63 plans to run in the HEROES Marathon honoring veterans Nov. 18 at Lions Club Park in Rolla. In February she climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Evelyn Smith, 63 plans to run in the HEROES Marathon honoring veterans Nov. 18 at Lions Club Park in Rolla. In February she climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Photo submitted
Evie Smith has run marathons on every continent except two: Asia and Antarctica.
If you happened to be climbing Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro in February 2023, you may have spotted a gal wearing a Salem/Rolla HEROES Marathon shirt; it was HEROES Ambassador Evelyn Smith (aka, Evie) who spreads the word about the HEROES Event, literally, around the globe.
Evie, 63, will be returning to Rolla for the fifth time to complete the HEROES Marathon from Salem’s Dent County Commons to Rolla’s Lions Club Park. The park is the finish line that awaits all who participate- whether the 5K, the 10K around Veteran’s Park; the half, full, or RELAY marathons. In the relay, a team of four divide the marathon distance into 6-mile portions then finish together as a group just before the finish line. All monies raised benefit local veterans in Dent, Phelps, and Pulaski counties (plus a donation to national Mission 22- a charity working to prevent the estimated 22/day veteran suicides). $125,000 has been donated thus far by the HEROES Board to veteran organizations.
Evie said of her Mt. Kilimanjaro trek, “it was hard. It was cold at the top (elevation 19,431 ft). There was a very sandy portion where I kept sliding backwards. The ledges were tremendously scary! One of the hikers dropped her cell phone and one of the helpers unbelievably climbed down the side of a cliff to retrieve it. After that I wouldn’t take my phone out!” After reaching the summit, then descending, “we had one day of rest, then did the Kilimanjaro Marathon the next day- it was really hot and there was no water the last five miles.” With Africa done, Evie is well on her way to completing a marathon in each of the seven continents. “Two to go- Asia and Antarctica,” Evie states.
Evie finished her 600th marathon on Sept. 24, 2023 at the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline, Illinois. She is on state 42 of the Fifty States Marathons conquest. She has already done the 50 State Marathon challenge four times. Evie doesn’t think of her accomplishments as amazing.
“There are many people I meet at these events who have done many more than I have- to them I’m just a kid.” She has one son and a baby granddaughter that she cares for two days a week. She is a substitute teacher in her hometown of Rockford, Illinois, and plays saxophone in the Community College Band.
Last year’s HEROES Marathon saw Evie crossing the finish line about 2 p.m., and it was a chilly day in Dent/Phelps counties, however “the coldest marathon I’ve done was in Tennessee in January of 2018, called the “Freeze Your Half Off”- two half marathon go-rounds totaled the full 26.2 miles. It was 7 degrees at the start,” Evie continued.
Is Evie an ambassador for any other events? “No, just HEROES. I do HEROES in honor of myDad(who served in the Navy during WWII). I’m looking forward to coming back!”
Cheer for Evie and all the other HEROES participants at Lions Club Park in Rolla on Saturday, Nov. 18 or take part in a half mile Honor Walk anytime between 12-2 p.m. that day to view the signs honoring individual veterans, including Evie’s father.
