Article Photos

 

John and Karen Wallace stop for a rest in Macon, Miss., showing off their jogger, which carried supplies and camping equipment over their 1,400-mile run. (Scott Boyd photo)

MARQUETTE — An Ishpeming couple was honored recently for accomplishing an unusual journey: a 1,400-mile run from the shores of Lake Superior to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.


John and Karen Wallace made the trip on foot in 82 days last summer to bring awareness to the Alzheimer’s Association and to raise funds for Marquette County’s Lifetracker project. The project provides an electronic tracking system for Alzheimer’s patients, especially those who wander.


The couple became involved in Alzheimer’s efforts through their jobs; Karen has spent many years working with elderly patients at a nursing home and John retired after 26 years in law enforcement, when he also encountered Alzheimer’s sufferers. 


John Wallace said the couple — in their mid-50s — also made the trip for another reason.


“We wanted to run just to tell people they can do the things they want to do in life,” he said.


And it was an impressive demonstration, averaging 13 to 16 miles a day. The longest they ran in one day was 26¢ miles, he said.


“Thirteen miles doesn’t sound so bad the first day, or the second day, but when you’re looking at the second month ...” John Wallace said.


Still, the Wallaces were met with support and encouragement along the way, often from complete strangers.


“We loved doing it, the people we met and the places we got to go,” he said.


Along the way they raised about $1,000 for the Lifetracker program.


Coordinators of the Lifetracker program honored the couple at a meeting last week.


Marquette County Sheriff Mike Lovelace’s office runs the program, and Lovelace said the system is similar to wildlife radio tracking, except the transmitter is in a small bracelet resembling a watchband. It emits a signal every few seconds and if a person wearing the transmitter is reported to have wandered away, the sheriff’s office can find them with a directional signal. The signal is trackable on the ground for about 5 miles and in the air for about 10 miles, Lovelace said.


The program’s been in place for two years, Lovelace said, but only 13 people in Marquette County currently wear the transmitters.


“We have 50 transmitters, so we could take another 37 clients,” he said.


He said the impetus for the program was a case of a woman who was lost near Witch Lake. The sheriff’s office and other agencies spent two weeks looking for her before calling off the search. Two months later, her body was found 5 miles from the search area.


“I said, there has got to be some technology that can help us,” Lovelace said.


So he looked into it and found the Lifetracker bracelets. 


Before that, he said, it was not unusual to be searching for an elderly person with Alzheimer’s or other dementia.


“We’ve had probably 10 individuals in the past 30 years, who walk off and not be found alive, or be found at all,” Lovelace said.


To see more photos, read the Wallaces’ blog or donate to their efforts, visitwww.togetherwerun.com. The couple also can be reached atTogetherWeRun@wildblue.net.

Hi John and Karen

This is Amy (Erickson) Jordan, I don't know if you guys remember me. I used to work with Karen at Eastwood and we were partners often on the C wing. John you should also remember me since I used to bring you Mackinac island fudge!!! I was an emt and often got to ride along with Ishpeming ems. That seems so long ago.

I have often wondered how you guys are. I went to college and have a culinary degree and also a LPN degree. I was working at eastwood when I met my husband Dan Jordan, and after I graduated from NMU we got married in 03. We have been together for almost 12 years!! hard to believe where the time went.

We have moved out of the U.P. although we miss it terribly. Last July my husband Dan was offered a teaching position with Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids IOWA, so here we are. And we actually love living here. The people are wonderful and very welcoming.

Karen you look wonderful I am so very proud of you!! You are an inspiration. So do you John, and it's wonderful that you are running for a great cause.

So I see what you guys have been up to I was so excited when I read the article at the mining journal on line. What else is in your future? I plan on going back to school again for my RN degree, but Dan wants to go back too, so since I have a degree and he doesn't he is going to start school this fall. We had to establish residency before,so we don't have to pay out of state fees.

We don't have any children together just two dogs, HUGO and Growler(a pug). They travel with us as much as possible.

Please email and let me know how you are.

Amy Jordan

I´m proud of you. Do you plan a new run? In July 2008 I will run across Kansas. If I had the time, which I not have, I would run again across USA. Yours Bjorn Suneson Sweden