New Marathon Coming to Kent in Spring 2012

Melissa Cairns wants to use her passion for running to raise money for victims of domestic abuse.

Cairns is working to bring a new marathon to Kent called "On My Own 2 Feet" to raise money for the Cleveland Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, Portage County Safer Futures — Portage's shelter for woman and children — and .

Cairns said she's run 10,000 miles in the past few years in different marathons and ultramarathons, and she has friends who are race organizers in the area who can help her set up and run the new Kent race, which is tentatively scheduled for May.

"There’s a lot of 5Ks that they have for benefits for all sorts of different organizations, but there aren’t any marathons that I’m aware of that are set up for charity reasons," Cairns said.

Cairns still has a lot of details to work out, including the exact route, but gave her tentative approval this month to bring her new marathon to Kent next year. But that approval came with the contingency that Cairns could work out the exact route with the , which will have to staff road crossings for the runners.

Cairns proposed that the route start at Kent State University's Dix Stadium and weave its way on and out-and-back route through the campus and community.

Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee said one concern with staffing the road crossings is that the marathon is tentatively set for the same weekend that many college students celebrate the end of the school year — historically a busy weekend for Kent cops.

"That same weekend we have a lot of problematic issues going on in the city with the students," she said.

Cairns said she's willing to cooperate in whatever way possible to get the marathon up and running, including paying the staffing costs for up to six of the officers. She wants to make the marathon low-key — just a few hundred runners — and an annual event.

"The whole point is that it’s a fundraiser to help survivors of domestic violence," Cairns said. “It’s not a Boston qualifier. It’s a charity event. However I can work with the city to accomplish that."