It’s a strictly Connecticut quest. A veteran is about to finish it and the group ‘welcomes all.’

The group was founded in 2012 as a means to encourage fitness and explore Connecticut.

Katie LeClair is about to run in a road race in her 169th Connecticut town.

And yes, that means she’s run a race in every town in the state except one.

So, on March 30, LeClair, a veteran and Windham resident, plans to complete the 1- and 3-mile races at the St. Joseph School Fun Run in Sprague.

“I chose this race because it’s close to where I live,” said LeClair.

LeClair began her journey in 2017 with a race in Norwich after her best friend told her about the Run 169 Towns Society.

“This group of runners welcomes all,” said LeClair. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re an elite runner or just beginning.  Everyone is friendly. Everyone wants you to succeed.”

The group was founded in 2012 as a means to encourage fitness and explore Connecticut.

“Our group, which began with just eight members including myself, follows a simple rule: each member must run or walk an official timed race in each of Connecticut’s 169 towns at their own pace,” said Adam Osmond, the group’s founder.

When the group began, there were 12 Connecticut towns without races.

“We reached out to local organizations and race directors in those towns, and as our group grew, we successfully collaborated to ensure that all 169 towns now have races,” said Osmond.

Run 169 Towns is now comprised of 4,747 members from 166 out of the 169 towns in Connecticut. About 190 of those members have completed races in all 169 towns, with some working on their second or third round, according to the society. Two dogs also have completed the 169-town challenge. The youngest members to complete 169 towns were 10- and 12-year-old siblings and the oldest member to complete the challenge is 80. Through entry fees, the group has contributed to a number of causes.

“Members are inspirational,” said LeClair. “I’ve seen kids progress from fun runs to compete in high school track, others returning after injuries, cancer treatment, brain surgery, and childbirth. The will to persevere is strong when you have so many rooting for you.”

“Always there”

LeClair contributes to the network of races across the state by being the race director for the Scotland Scoot, held the third Saturday in November, as well as the Highland Half Marathon, held the first Saturday in April. Due to storms this past fall/winter, the town had bridges on the courses damaged and won’t be able to hold those races in the near future. LeClair and others are looking for different routes for a potential new race.

LeClair said her favorite races are those that benefit veterans.

“I retired nine years ago after 20 years in the Air Force,” she said.

LeClair joined the Air Force in 1995 and became a pharmacy technician. She was stationed for seven years at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Before she was moved to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, LeClair donated a kidney to coworker Judy Peterson’s daughter in May 2002.

“My kidney, Jennifer Peterson and I have remained in touch,” quipped LeClair. “She is still doing well.”

LeClair is always making people smile, according to her best friend, John Marion. The pair met in 1992 at Norwich Free Academy and have been close ever since.

“From the moment I met her, I could tell she was a good-hearted person,” said Marion. “She was always there for her friends, and even those she didn’t know.”

LeClair loves to dress up in costumes when running, according to her friend, having dressed as a sneaker and the Kool-Aid man, among other things.

“For her 169th race, she decided to run in an inflatable T-Rex costume,” said Marion. “Word got out to the run club and there will be quite a few of us wearing similar costumes to celebrate with her.”

LeClair got Marion into running with a road race in 2013 in Virginia Beach.

“I was not much of a runner, but we had a lot of fun,” he said.

They ran their first race together in Connecticut with Marion’s wife, Kris, and daughter Elyn,and other members of his family, when they became involved in Run 169. They have since run 20 other races together in Connecticut.

“She and I are by no means fast runners,” said Marion. “We pride ourselves as the back-of-the-pack runners, getting the most out of our race fee as we say, but we are having fun the whole time.”

Marion said that he and LeClair encourage those running around them, and have made many friends that way.

“The run 169 family is just that…a huge family that is spread throughout the state,” he said. “We looked forward to seeing the familiar faces at the different races.”

LeClair was deployed three times during her time in Virginia and when she retired, she was the pharmacy superintendent at Langley, she said.. After moving back to Connecticut in 2017 she began working as a pharmacy technician at the Groton Submarine Base.

She said that her most memorable races are those with her friends, “When we question why we pay to torture ourselves…” She loves running with dogs, but her Lab mix has bad joints so he hasn’t joined her on her quest.

“My friends Katey Baruth and Rick Shoup have let me run with their dogs,” said LeClair. Quinn, a black Labrador, has already run a race in all 169 towns.

“She helps me to run faster,” said LeClair.

Piper, a bulldog, was also fun to run with.

“For being a bulldog, she ran with the tenacity of the Energizer Bunny,” said LeClair, noting that unfortunately, Piper passed away last year.

“Easygoing vibes”

LeClair turned 50 on March 13. To celebrate a new age group, she decided to run the first 1/2 marathon she had ever run. Marion agreed to join her.

“It was great to spend her 50th birthday with her,” said Marion. “She somehow got me to complete an 8k and a half marathon in two days. She is always there to push me and make me a better person and for that I’ll be forever grateful that we met that day 32 years ago.”

“Katie’s personality is a delightful mix of easygoing vibes, quick wit, and dry sarcasm that always keeps things entertaining,” said friend Katey Baruth. “She’s very loyal, dependable, and just so darn likable that she has built lifelong friendships across the country with many individuals.”

As LeClair runs in her 169th Connecticut town on March 30, many of those friends will be there to cheer and support her.

“She deserves a medal for being herself … a genuine, good-hearted, giving soul,” said Marion.