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Unique running event set for Sunday
Mellinger’s vision
cleared obstacles
By Ryan Buck
When Columbiana native Erin Mellinger returned home after graduation from Muskingum College and had designs of opening her own fitness franchise, she started small.
In 2008, Fitness Together in Canfield opened its doors, offering one-on-one training in the office’s cozy confines.
Her pursuits, however, steadily grew. The Poland franchise welcomed its first clients in 2012 and a third location in Howland opened just weeks ago.
Now, she’s thinking big.
Mellinger has leveraged her passion for fitness and business acumen in organizing the Mahoning Valley’s first ever adventure race, a logistical recreational fitness spectacle she hopes will inspire competition while celebrating her home.
The inaugural Steelathlon, benefitting the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, will take place in Youngstown on Sunday. The three-mile run, littered with obstacles to challenge both the hardcore and the humble, will take participants from the cavernous lanes of the downtown neighborhood up through the Youngstown State campus and back through the Federal Plaza finish.
An adventure racer herself — she has completed the Warrior Dash and other mud runs — thoughts of home raced through her mind as she competed in the Men’s Health Urbanathlon in Chicago. The three-to-nine mile race capitalized on Chicago’s natural and man-made landmarks in formulating one of the industry’s largest events.
“We as trainers would do it and we’d come back and tell others and clients about it,” Mellinger said. “They’d tell us they couldn’t go to Chicago for that or it’s too long.
“Being busy with my real job, I kind of kept it on the back burner. But it was always this passion and I always knew I wanted to do it. It wasn’t the right time, but I couldn’t shake it.”
Her Fitness Together clients lit the fuse.
“So I wanted to come up with something to appeal to the masses to get people like our clients to do them, who wouldn’t otherwise get to experience an adventure run,” said Mellinger, a Crestview High alumnus. “It’s funny. I like to do them too, just to stay motivated and have a purpose behind your training. We have a lot of clients that are intrigued by them, but they wouldn’t do them for one reason or another. They were too long or there was mud involved or something like that.”
Some 2.2 million people participated in one of America’s fastest growing pursuits in 2013, according to Outdoor Industry Association. Athletes of all ages — especially the 25-44 demographic — are devoted.
Why not bring it to Youngstown?
“I guess that was kind of the thought,” she said. “And I love Youngstown, so I just thought Youngstown needs something like this. [Adventure races] are so trendy right now, but there’s a lot of pride in Youngstown. People like to go downtown for the Panerathon and Peace Race so I thought, ‘This would be perfect that it appeals to more people and is new and different and celebrates Youngstown.’”
The circuitous and geographically diverse three-mile course begins and ends downtown. Tractor tires, balance beams, hurdles and bridges must be exercised.
It leads uphill to the Butler Institute and through YSU before the highest point in Youngstown is reached.
Participants will scale the Stambaugh Stadium steps moments after sprinting through the Watson and Tressel Training Site, which will be loaded with football-themed obstacles.
“A lot of people are nervous about the obstacles and I think they’re worried about getting hurt. A lot of my clients worried, ‘What if I can’t do them?’” Mellinger said.
“The fit people will go through them a lot faster, but the vast majority will be able to go through them just fine. They might have to take it slower or be more cautious, but I think my training experience helped with that. Design the obstacles so the fit people can win but everybody can have fun as well.”
Numerous Youngstown landmarks are on the route as it descends back toward the Covelli Centre finish line.
“Normal runs —5Ks and 10Ks — are really fun, but when you throw in stair climbs and things like that, it adds this whole new dynamic that makes for a memorable experience for everyone,” Mellinger said. “I knew that that’s what I wanted to bring home so more people around here can do it.
“It really is celebrating the city. We’re running up our many staircases, over the Wick Avenue Bridge, right through campus and the WATTS. It’s like turning the city into a playground or an adventure run. There are a lot of cool things that aren’t even obstacles but that are part of the city that makes it a cool experience.”
The organization has been full of challenges, namely logistics and marketing. Mellinger says she has scoured every gym and shoe store in the area and maintained a constant social media presence with the help of local designers, mostly clients. But once she got support from YSU, everything else fell into place.
“I went in there thinking, ‘This is never going to work,’ ” she said.
“It’s kind of celebrating Youngstown and YSU, so they were so supportive. All along the way they’ve gone above and beyond.”
Mellinger’s vision — one even she thought was outrageous — is about to come to fruition.
“As I was running (The Urbanathlon) in 2012, I thought, ‘I should seriously do something like this closer to home so more people could enjoy,’ because it is such a fun experience and there’s nothing like that feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line.”
For more race and registration information, see Steelathlon.com and search for the race page on Facebook. Registration concludes Thursday.