Every year, Enid hosts the Great Land Run racing event. Started in 2008, the run is a fun, spirited event that usually attracts several hundred athletes. Presented by Wymer Brownlee and Koch, the event commemorates the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893, which gives runners and walkers the chance to race, and most importantly, also raises funds for schools in Garfield County. With the 17th annual Great Land Run just around the corner, Enid Monthly is shining a light on both the race itself and the inspiring stories of some local runners.
It’s been said that “A thousand-mile journey begins with a single step.” In the case of Enid runner Jason Watkins, it would be accurate to say that a streak of nearly one thousand runs began with a single pair of cowboy boots. And for fellow runner Johnette Kemph, also of Enid, what has become an epic quest of finishing half marathons across America began with some neighborhood mailboxes. For each of these hometown runners, running has taken them on journeys that they never imagined. Like the thousands of people who participated in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893, Jason and Johnette are staking their claim—only instead of homesteads, their claims are firmly planted on the annals of Enid running lore.
Although Jason’s running story really did begin with cowboy boots, those came a bit later in life. As a youth, Jason grew up on a farm in nearby Burlington, and he was not a track star. In fact, his school did not even offer track or cross country. Instead, he played basketball. “We had winter basketball and summer basketball,” he recalled. In college, he met his wife, Sheila, and in 1993, he graduated from Rose State College with an associates in radiology. One thing led to another, and eventually Jason found himself at the helm of his own business, Health Link Mobile X-Ray.
Building a thriving business is an impressive accomplishment, but as any business owner knows, it is also a demanding one. In the thick of both growing the business and raising two growing kids, Jason eventually found himself at a crossroads. “I was up to about 228 pounds,” he said, “and I just didn’t take care of myself like I should have.” So about 12 years ago, he woke up around the first of January and said to himself, “I’ve got to do something different.” The “something different” ended up being a lap around the local high school track with a pair of cowboy boots. Unsurprisingly, Jason recalled saying to himself, “Well, this is kind of hard.”
He didn’t know it at the time, but that one lap would change his life. Undaunted and undeterred, Jason bought himself a proper pair of running shoes, and then he ran some more. Impressively, it only took him about a month to go from the cowboy boots lap to his first 5K, which was the now defunct “Warm Your Heart 5K” hosted by the Junior Welfare League. His daughter encouraged him, saying “Dad, if you’re going to run, don’t squeeze your fist, hold your hands like you’re holding a potato chip in each hand.” Father and daughter ran that 5K together, and Jason has been running 5K’s ever since.
In addition to 5K’s, Jason has run a slew of other races. Gradually, he shed pounds and added miles. He had not originally intended to run longer distances, but they kind of snuck up on him. He said, “You’re only half crazy to run a half marathon,” and so he ran one at Woodring Regional Airport, on the eastern outskirts of town. Jason just kept going, eventually finishing the Tulsa Route 66 half marathon and the Oklahoma City Memorial marathon. Looking back, Jason credits his successful journey of fitness and improved health to God, saying, “I just feel blessed that I’ve been given an opportunity to stay healthy.”
If Jason began running with cowboy boots, Johnette began with mailboxes. Now a retired lady of a certain age, Johnette worked for 35 years as an insurance adjuster. She spent 25 years with General Adjustment Bureau and the last 10 with Progressive, all based here in Enid. Her job was demanding, and it took her all over northern Oklahoma. “I spent long hours in a truck,” she said, “so fast-food heaven!”
The years took their toll, and eventually Johnette had had enough. “I was grossly overweight when I retired,” Johnette said, and her doctor had concerns about the potential for diabetes. So, Johnette began going to Zumba classes at the gym. One of her Zumba friends, Tami, wore tee shirts from 5K races she had done, and somehow those shirts caught Johnette’s eye. They sparked her curiosity about running, and then she mustered up the courage to go to meetings for the Enid Running Club. From Johnette’s rookie viewpoint, the long-time runners seemed impossibly grandiose, and she recalled griping to her coach, Glenn, that “I couldn’t run very fast.” And Glenn replied, “Have you ever thought about how many birthdays you’ve had?” Taking up running in one’s mid-sixties is not for the faint of heart, and yet that is exactly what Johnette did.
Like Jason, once Johnette started running, she did not stop. She mixes up the running with plenty of walking, but she still gets the job done. In fact, Johnette is now part of an elite group of racers called Mainly Marathons, whose members strive to complete races in all 50 states. Along with a close-knit group of girlfriends, Johnette has conquered half marathons almost everywhere, with just about 12 states left to check off their list. “We have three coming up in September, in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho,” she said. “It’s a girl’s trip, our break from reality. You don’t mess with tough old women!”
Both Johnette and Jason are active members of the Enid Running Club (ERC), which organizes the Great Land Run race. The ERC is responsible for setting up the race start/finish line, providing chip timing, etc., and they do it with a small army of volunteers. According to Jason, “It’s a ball of volunteers. Whether it’s handing out water, helping with registration, helping set up the equipment…there’s always room for volunteers.”
The ERC has helped with the Great Land Run race event from the beginning. Starting with a 5K in 2008, the event has since added a 10K and a half-marathon. As the event has grown, so has the behind-the-scenes effort to ensure a successful race day. In addition to the ERC, the generous contributions of many others in the community help to maximize the positive impact that the races have on the community. ERC President Eve Switzer said, “It’s just a large process. There are so many parts, and we couldn’t really do it without all our partners and help from the schools and help from our sponsors.”
In 2008, when the Great Land Run Foundation started the race, they could not have foreseen the sheer amount of support that would eventually be raised for schools. As of 2024, the Foundation has donated over $500,000 to Chisholm and Enid public schools. According to Dr. Dudley Darrow, who is the superintendent of Enid Public Schools and also a board member of the Great Land Run Foundation, the funds have been a tremendous gift.
Dr. Darrow explained that the Land Run funds are unrestricted, meaning that schools may use the money as they see fit. For Enid’s students, the funds have supported the purchase of classroom technology such as SMART Boards, tools in the high school fabrication lab, and resources for the aviation class at Enid High School.
The future is bright, too, as Enid High plans to launch a Vocational Agricultural (“Vo-Ag”) program in the 2024-2025 school year. Land Run funds will be directly supporting that effort, with Dr. Darrow reporting that they will be “using these funds to help kick this off. You know, we’re a Vo-Ag community and a very agribusiness community. And it’ll just help us get this program off the ground.”
Working in collaboration with Autry Technology Center, Enid High has planned a robust program that aims to help students who are interested in exploring careers in the agricultural industry. Dr. Darrow said, “It’s everything related to ag. As you know, we live right in the middle of the country where agriculture is a huge part of our life. And when you start looking at the industries in the Enid area, a lot of them can be tied back to agricultural skills and, you know, agricultural mechanical skills…meat judging, welding, and there’s windmills. There’s just a ton of opportunities for our kids to get a good start and a good foundation for their training.”
Regardless of what careers students end up pursuing, the new Vo-Ag program will teach things that can be used in all areas of work and life. Every student who participates will learn to embrace fundamental professional values such as hard work, curiosity in learning new things, and setting and working towards goals. One class or workshop can be the first step for a student on a journey they never could have imagined, but one that ends up being incredibly enriching, just like Jason’s cowboy boots.
Jason never imagined that a single lap in cowboy boots would someday lead to his current streak of over 900 consecutive daily 5K runs. He has no plans to stop, either, even working in his daily runs when he is on vacation. Even better, that journey has put him in a position to help others. When his friend Dan asked for help on getting started with running, Jason’s answer was simple. “Just walk out your door,” he said, “Walk away from your house for 15 minutes and turn around and go home.” Dan did walk out the door, and he worked his way up to four miles a day. He’s even begun a streak of his own, recently informing Jason that he had done 15 consecutive weeks and lost over 40 pounds in the process.
Johnette’s jogs between mailboxes amounted to a similar outcome. She never imagined that running between mailboxes with her little sidekick, Zeek, who does 3-5 miles a day with her, would someday take her (and two of her best running friends) on a three-state tour in September of this year. The group is headed to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and they plan to smash three half marathons in one combined trip. Johnette said, “It’s a good way to combine getting some exercise and also having fun. This has been a godsend, this group of ladies. We lean on each other.”
The 2024 Great Land Run itself will also forge a new path this year. For the first time, the races will start at Red Bird Farm, a Christmas tree farm and local agritourism destination at the north end of Enid on Hwy 81. Kent and Becky Evatt opened Red Bird Farm in 2018, and both are part of the Enid Running Club. They are huge supporters of the running community, and there is a lot of excitement in the air about this charming venue. Jason said, “My house was up at the top of the hill directly behind Red Bird Farm, so it’s kind of a throwback…if I run the race this year, it’ll be on that same area I used to run at all the time.”
Approximately 100,000 people participated in the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run. That historical event was ostensibly about land, but in another sense, it was also about stories: the stories of Native Americans, of government officials, and with particular resonance here in Enid, of settlers. Thousands of people and countless stories were woven together to create the fabric of northern Oklahoma. People took steps forward (or galloped on horses) without knowing exactly how their stories would go but hopeful at the creation of forging new ones. Fast forward to 2023, when over 200 athletes crossed the finish lines of the Great Land Run 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Every finisher began their race long before the starting gun, though. For Jason, Johnette, everyone in the Enid Running Club, and yes, for everyone else who has ever laced up their shoes and walked out the door, it all began with a single step.
