Chasing Change, Creating a Community

This is a story, a story about some concerned citizens who grew tired of seeing the destruction drugs could do to their town. Then, adding insult to injury, were forced to hear (& read) in the news about how downtrodden their scenic city nestled in the Appalachian foothills of Ross County had become as a result. This, of course, could not have been further from the truth.

Their answer to turning things around and painting a better image, create a footrace. As the old adage goes, truth is stranger than fiction. Of course, there are far more details as to how and why this evolved, but even with full details the story would be tough to comprehend. 

The result is the 150 mile, 24 hour, 10 runner, 2 driver team relay through 4 national and state parks circling the county where this so-called "downtrodden" city resides. Now, we find ourselves on the verge of the sixth installment of The Buck Fifty and it has become much more than an effort to combat community ills or even a competitive race of athletic nature.

The Buck Fifty, in itself, is a running community of collaboration, partnership and connectedness. It is the relationships that have evolved from the shared sleep deprivation, exhaustion and support for one another as we chase the sunset and the sunrise, as well as the random glowing, flashing lights of our cohorts along streets, roads and trails under the cover of a Southern Ohio night.

There were 38 teams in the first event in 2017 and in year two Runner's World magazine wrote about the unique race and the purpose behind it - not to mention the number of teams jumped to 73. In 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic, we had well over 100 teams signed up. Though COVID pushed the race back to a July start, 54 of those teams still took part despite the summer heat - we persevered, we pulled through.

A Buck Fifty Runners Group exists on Facebook where folks discuss ideas and collaborate on course clean-ups, trail marking or share details on meetups at particular checkpoints for casual group runs and anyone can take part. It brings camaraderie to the other 363 days of the year when the event isn't taking place. Whether one is slow, fast, in-shape, out of shape, it simply doesn't matter. At last check, there were more than 1,200 members.

Our team, The Traffic Panthers, was first cobbled together in the summer of 2016 with folks who competed together during their high school glory days around Chillicothe and others who happened to work with one another in some shape or form. The squad has evolved since then, but we have 23 current and former members and many of us continue to run together, or get together, when we can.

If you were to review a list of all the teams that have taken part in The Buck Fifty over the years, you will find nearly all of them - despite some new names and faces - return. We stay connected, we are a community.

The race comes to an end, but those relationships go well beyond our GPS devices or Strava stats. It doesn't matter if you run to socialize, to exercise, to compete with others or even compete with yourself. What matters is how The Buck Fifty brings thousands of people together to prove basic human camaraderie is just as alive today as it has ever been.

Having taken part in every installment of this event, one thing remains constant: the people. The Buck Fifty has evolved from an effort to overcome, to an event folks across the country look forward each year for the sport, the experience, the accomplishment and a sense of belonging.

The runners, the van drivers, the volunteers, the businesses, the residents, the schools, the safety and emergency personnel - we are an accidental running community centered around a 150 mile trail of purpose and progress. Ladies & Gentlemen, Welcome to The Buck Fifty.

Craig R. Simpson
Team: Traffic Panthers (version 6.0)