Local runner completes leg of Great American Relay

Turning from Seminary Street on her leg of the Great American Relay, Kindria Martin makes her way up South Indiana Street Wednesday followed by the Greencastle Fire Department’s hazmat truck and a support van.

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REELSVILLE — Though with two half-marathons under her belt this year, and with her almost-two-year-old daughter Lizzie keeping her on her toes, Kindria Martin had a different run Wednesday.

The South Putnam graduate ran track in middle school and high school, and she has not stopped. Half-marathons being just over 13 miles, Martin, 31, ran one in Carmel in April and then the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, the largest in the country, a month later.

“It’s a therapy thing for sure,” Martin said about why she runs. “It gives me kind of ‘Me’ time and to push myself physically and mentally. It’s good all the way around.”

Martin is always up for opportunities locally to get out and run. This time, without the half-marathon field and buoyed for the cause, she completed a leg of the Great American Relay in support of first responders and military.

The relay started in Santa Monica, Calif., and will conclude at the World Trade Center site in New York City, a distance of about 3,445 miles. With 668 stages planned over 36 days, the route will have stopped at hundreds of firehouses across 17 states and Washington, D.C.

Earlier, she is passed the baton from participant Chris Eagles at the Reelsville Volunteer Fire Department. Martin’s distance from Reelsville to Greencastle was nine-and-a-half miles.

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The cause supports the efforts of the Green Beret Foundation, the Firefighter Five Foundation and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). The nonprofit partners assist U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers, firefighters and police officers and their families.

After being “passed” the baton (participants keep theirs as souvenirs) from Chris Eagles ­— his leg from the Van Buren Township Volunteer Fire Department in Clay County — Martin ran the nine-and-a-half-miles from the Reelsville Volunteer Fire Department to the Greencastle Fire Department.

Martin made her run in two hours and nine minutes, which was not far off from what she set her goal at.

The relay was picked up at Greencastle Fire by a group from the Fort Wayne and Noblesville areas, who arrived later at the Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department. From there, the next stop was planned at the volunteer fire department in Amo.

“It was a very tough run with all of the hills,” Martin reflected about her effort Thursday. Even so, she was heartened by those who came down Manhattan Road to cheer her on, as well as her father Les meeting her along the road with water.

The run in and of itself was meaningful for Martin. This was partly because she grew up between Reelsville and Poland, along with her part ending in her hometown.

Martin adds her name to the board with those of each runner who had participated in the relay thus far.

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The greater part was it being a way to honor first responders’ sacrifices and encourage community support, even though she does not have a direct connection to them.

“This is something that connects the whole country together,” she said at Reelsville Fire. “It’s just a baton pass, but you get eyes on a local runner and someone who supports your first responders. It’s cool to be part of all of that.”

Martin was thankful for the support she had received from friends and family, as well as from military who reached out to thank her for doing her part.

“I am super excited about the support that I’m getting today, from all my friends and family who keep sending me messages rooting me on,” Martin said before she got under way. “It’s about the cause.”