![]() ![]() ![]() RELATED: Beloved Teacher and Marathon Champion Killed by Car on Morning Run A legacy continued It was interesting going to her funeral because we thought of her as a runner, but you saw how many people that she influenced at her church, school, and in different neighborhoods. “There were probably hundreds of people who knew her. “She made the world and everybody in it so much better,” said Velma Matuszewski, 74, a local runner who met Linda more than 30 years ago through the Columbus running community. “She always appreciated the little things.” “She loved to run along the river in Columbus and see the wildlife and flowers,” remembered her daughter, Carey Thomas, 37. “She always appreciated the little things.” Gary Evans “She loved to run along the river in Columbus and see the wildlife and flowers,” remembered her daughter, Carey Thomas. To date, it’s raised nearly $9,000, more than double the original goal. Photos, videos, and Garmin screenshots with the hashtag #RunForLinda began popping up across social media, and a fundraising page to cover the costs for her memorial service and a commemorative bench was quickly set up. “Her passing-just like Linda herself-it’s brought us together.”įollowing Linda’s death, the outpouring of support from the running community was immediate and overwhelming. “She had such compassion for them,” Fisher remembered. “Linda was not really into the competition part of running and would never talk much about what she had accomplished.” Instead, the two often discussed Linda’s students. “Some people pretend to be good, but Linda was a genuinely good person,” said Suzanne Fisher, 74, a fellow runner and close friend of the Evans family. A wide and deep impactīeyond her impact as a mother and a wife, Linda was a well-known fixture in the community. She simply ran-day in and day out-because she loved the sport. She didn't religiously document her streak or submit her progress to any streaking associations. “She was not interested in the limelight and wasn’t out for publicity,” Gary said. When Linda began streaking the next year, her aim wasn't to become a streaker. “Running was our life and we loved running,” Gary said. Right: Linda and Gary Evans on their wedding day in 1979. Photo taken at a race in 1978, the year they met. Left: Gary and Linda Evans connected over their shared passion for running. ![]() A year later, they incorporated their passion for running into their nuptials when they married at the Sprite Sprint 5K in Bexley, Ohio. They shared their first kiss on the way to the starting line. “We hit it off while everyone else was asleep,” Gary said. When Gary drove the final stretch through western Massachusetts on a dark, winding two-lane highway, Linda crawled into the front seat to keep him company. The two were members of the Columbus Roadrunners Club in the ’70s and met in 1978 while in a five-person, 777-mile carpool from Ohio to Massachusetts for the Boston Marathon. She tackled her first 26.2-the Athens Ohio Marathon-in 1976, and from there became hooked.Ī few years later, the sport brought her and Gary together. “That’s how she started running.”Īfter finishing her service in Oklahoma, Linda moved to Westerville and continued running, gradually building up her mileage. “She lived a half mile from the mailbox and would have to run down and back every day to get the mail,” Gary told Runner’s World. She discovered the sport by accident as a young adult while living on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma with the AmeriCorps VISTA program. An unassuming startīorn in Champaign, Illinois, in 1948, Linda wasn’t a big athlete-and certainly not a runner-growing up. In the meantime, Gary, Carey, and the entire Westerville community continue to remember-and honor-a teacher, grandmother, friend, artist, and runner whose passion for the sport was inspiring and infectious. Coffman, 32, of Delaware, Ohio, was indicted in October on four counts related to the hit-and-run and will go on trial soon. Linda was just a quarter-mile away from the office when she was struck. “I was getting a root canal and she was supposed to meet me at the dentist office after her run,” Gary said. on July 31, 2017, while out on a 12-mile run in preparation for the Columbus Marathon in October, Linda’s streak-and life-were cut short when a driver under the influence of drugs swerved off the road, hitting the retired public school teacher and killing her on impact. RELATED: Meet the Florida Man Who Has Run Every Single Day for the Past 40 Yearsīut around 9 a.m. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play ![]()
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