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Where's Harvey: Ultrarunner's journey is inspiring people in Cincinnati to stay on their feet

Posted at 4:30 AM, Jun 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-14 09:14:42-04

The quest on which Cincinnati ultrarunner Harvey Lewis embarked this year is no walk in the park -- it's a run through the Appalachian Trail, which spans 2,190 miles from Georgia to Maine.

Although not every runner has the endurance or the vacation time to make the same trip, hundreds of people in Greater Cincinnati will spend the next several weeks running "with" him by mimicking his run as closely as they can. 

"If he can run the whole Appalachian Trail and hike 30,000 feet in the last few days, surely we can climb 300 feet up to Mount Adams," runner Marie O'Reilly said. 

O'Reilly and her fellow "streakers" -- people who run every day -- are following Lewis's journey all over the country. Last week, they collectively ran over 5,000 miles to express their support as he traverses the trail. 

"Harvey's inspiring a lot of people around town," Road iD storyteller Mike Trimpe said. "He's doing something that's next to impossible, so we all want him to know he's not alone."