The Grandma Gatewood (Virtual) Challenge
About this race
5 Miles -> 5 Hikes -> 5 Parks -> 5 Weeks
The 5-week challenge enourages you to hike on-your-own at any 76 of Ohio's beautiful state parks! Weekly emails will be sent during the challenge with tips and information about group hikes at various park locations. Everyone that participates gets a finisher's patch and an official t-shirt is a $10 add-on.
Who is Grandma Gatewood?
Grandma Emma Gatewood was from Gallia, Ohio and helped found the Buckeye Trail. She hiked the Appalachian National Scenic Trail three times, becoming the first woman to hike it solo. She also hiked the Oregon Trail and sections of the Buckeye Trail. She started her hiking career at the age of 67!
To Learn More: Ohio’s Most Famous Hiker––Emma “Grandma” Gatewood - Ohio History Connection
Registration fee:
Price: $35 includes finisher's patch
Official t-shirt - special $10 add-on
Plan Your Hikes
Make sure you have a plan to complete the challenge, whether that be hiking once a week for 5 weeks, or more often. Need help planning which parks and which trails to hike? Check out these downloadable maps of all state parks and campgrounds. You can access online maps through the Ohio Trails Community on OuterSpatial.
Trails for All
The Ohio State Parks Foundation funds projects that make our state parks more welcoming to all. ADA trails are listed here. We encourage people of all abilities to participate in this challenge!
Track your Miles
There are several ways you can track your mileage. Many parks have signs that include mileage information at trailheads and along trails. You can also use a GPS tracking program on a smartphone such as AllTrails, or a personal fitness wearable, like Fitbit or Apple Watch.
Who Should Participate?
This challenge is for anyone that likes to spend time at Ohio State Parks. Whether you enjoy hiking or moving at a leisurely pace, this challenge will encourage you to do more of what you enjoy. It's the perfect reason to plan a trip to a favorite or never-before visited Ohio State Park!
If you are participating in the Buckeye Trail's Emma Grandma Gatewood Solstice (EGGS) hike, this is a great opportunity to prepare and make a commitment for this year's event held June 25-28. With 5 hikes under your belt by May 31, you'll be on your way to hiking the 20, 40, 60 or 80-mile options at the EGGS event! Learn More about EGGS
A special thank you to our sponsor for their support - Perry's Ice Cream
Additional Details:
- Repeat park locations are acceptable, but we encourage you to use this challenge to visit multiple state parks, especially those you've never visited before! Hiking in other parks can count towards your challenge miles.
- Each hike should be 5 miles (or more!). If you can't get to 5 miles at first, relax! This challenge is as fun or as serious as you want it to be. You will receive words of encouragement via emails during the challenge to help you stay motivated!
Proceeds and donations will support the Ohio State Parks Foundation's mission which is to make Ohio's state parks more welcoming to more people. We work with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to identify projects such as inclusive playgrounds, accessible trails, kayak launches, ADA benches and picnic tables in the 76 Ohio State Parks. Where the tax money ends, our funding begins.
Important Dates:
- Tuesday, March 31 - The deadline to register to guarantee your t-shirt size. Packets will start mailing out the week of April 5.
- Sunday, April 26 - The deadline to register to give yourself five full weeks to complete the challenge.
- Sunday, May 31 - The last date to complete the challenge and submit your tracking data to qualify for a finisher's patch.
- Sunday, June 28 - Attend the EGGS reception at Burr Oak State Park for a photo opp with other participants.
Pick your distance
Running
Grandma Gatewood Challenge
Typical race-day weather
Based on 8 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Westerville, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:37 AM and sets at 8:21 PM local time (EDT) in Westerville on April 26, 2026 — 13h 44m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — The Grandma Gatewood (Virtual) Challenge
Grandma Gatewood Challenge · 196 finishers
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Fischer | — | — |
| 2 | Emily Ott | — | — |
| 3 | Patrick Long | — | — |
| 4 | Jessica Urey | — | — |
| 5 | Fin Revennaugh | — | — |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
Other races near Westerville
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Cere-bration Walk, Roll, Run Columbus
Make A Way 5K
Columbus Classical Academy's Race for Virtue 5K
Let Me Run Columbus FallFest 5K
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Westerville
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Westerville 5K Races 29 races
- 10K Run Events in Westerville 3 races
- Westerville Running Calendar 2026 33 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 33 Westerville events
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