Williams to run 18 miles on her 18th birthday

By Angie Landsverk

Abbi Williams is celebrating her 18th birthday on March 9, by running 18 miles and raising funds for the Waupaca County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Submitted Photo

Abbi Williams was looking for a new goal when her cross country season came to an end last October.

A month later, she had one.

“I thought, I can run 18 miles on my 18th birthday,” said the Waupaca High School senior.

That was after she learned Joe Stetler ran 37 miles on his 37th birthday.

Williams follows him on Instagram.

The California man has a rare form of cancer and raised funds for cancer research when he ran.

“I was very inspired by that,” Williams said.

On Tuesday, March 9, she is running 18 miles and raising funds for the Waupaca County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

“In the beginning, I had an idea that I wanted to do a fundraiser but I was not sure what for,” Williams said.

Then her father told her what his dad always said.

“It’s always good to help out your community,” Al Williams told his daughter.

Williams said she never met her grandfather because he passed away before she was born.

She wanted to raise money for a local organization.

Williams chose the coalition due to its work to end stigmas related to mental health and its suicide prevention efforts.

She set up a GoFundMe page and quickly surpassed her $500 fundraising goal.

Those who want to donate may click on https://gofund.me/aa0e2792 to do so.

“The reason I originally started running was after my grandpa passed away,” she said, referring to the father of her mother Brenda Williams.

She said, “It helped me be happy again and process the grief. It’s helped me in numerous ways.”

Cross country athlete

Williams participated in cross country during her junior and senior years.

“I’ve had people tell me all my life I should join cross country,” she said.

Her father, as well as the WHS cross country coach and athletic trainer, encouraged her to be join cross country.

“I finally caved in,” Williams said. “I loved it.”

Last summer, she trained for a half marathon, creating a local route to run on her own.

The week before Christmas is when she began training for her upcoming 18-mile run.

Williams typically runs five days a week.

“There’s not really a pattern,” she said. “All my long days were on Wednesdays.”

That was at the beginning of her training.

On her short run days, she usually runs between 2 and 5 miles.

On her long run days, she kept adding one mile each week.

Last Saturday, Williams ran 17 miles for the first time.

“Building to 17 was pretty easy,” she said.

There were a few runs that were difficult for her due to the weather.

During this month’s earlier stretch of colder days, Williams ran on a treadmill instead.

She enjoys running in the country where it is more scenic and quiet.

Williams said she is training by herself and will run alone on her birthday.

She plans to start her 18-mile run at 11:44 a.m. that day, which is what time she was born.

“I will start at my home, and I will end at the high school,” Williams said.

She wanted to end it at a neutral place, so people can cheer for her and thus chose WHS.

Waupaca students are on spring break that week.

She knows family, friends and some teachers may be along the route she created for her run.

Williams expects it to take about three hours to complete the 18 miles.

As the pandemic continues, she encourages others to get outside and move.

Next fall, Williams begins studying early childhood education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

“I hope to continue running,” she said. “I hope that after my birthday, I come up with a new goal. Who knows how crazy it’ll be.”