Olentangy principal, teacher running Olympic marathon course

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) – Two Olentangy Schools' educators will be taking the Olympic spirit to another level when they run the same route as this summer's Olympic marathon runners.

Lauren Heitkamp, a principal at Arrowhead Elementary, and Kate Ross, a math teacher at Berlin High School, are getting ready for their trip to Paris, where they’ll take part in The Marathon Pour Tous, or Marathon for All. It's an opportunity for them and others to run the same route as the Olympic athletes.

"Oh, I was just so pumped to be a part of it," Ross said. "The Olympics, I mean is everyone's dream to be a part of the Olympics and even though we’re not going and competing for bronze, silver, or gold, it still, it feels like we get to be a part of the games."

The Marathon Pour Tous is a first-of-its-kind event in Olympic history, according to the race website.

“Just going and watching the games would have been incredible, but to get to go there and be an athlete even though, again, we’re not Olympians, but to just to kind of be a part of it and run that course is going to be incredible," Heitkamp said.

To have a chance at taking part, runners had to complete certain running-related challenges. Then they were put into a pool, with 20,024 picked for the marathon including Heitkamp and Ross. Ross found out first.

"It's going to be an incredible experience,” Ross said. “The course runs through the heart of Paris, we’re going to run by the Louvre, we’re going to run all the way out to Versailles and then back.” 

But Heitkamp didn't get her email until six months later.

“I think, at first, I was just surprised, like, ‘What?’ because I really kind of counted it as, ‘I guess I didn't get in,’ and then I texted her and it was just lots of capital letters, exclamation points and just the fact we can go do it together," Heitkamp said. 

The race on Aug. 10 takes place on the same day as the Olympic marathons but at a different time. The women said they plan to take in the sights along the route.

"We just really want to enjoy it, want to get out there and have fun,” Heitkamp said. “It's going to be a really challenging course, the marathon course at this Olympics, it's going to be really hard, there's a lot of really steep inclines, especially on the back half. So we just plan to have fun and enjoy it.”