What others have said
Media coverage of Running4
A collection of podcasts, videos, and articles featuring the Running4 community
Nick the Brave Podcast
The honor of a lifetime to be a guest on our friend Nicholas “Nick the Brave” Parscale’s “Chemo, Kitties, and Canines” podcast, where we found motivation in Nick’s inspirational message of unrelenting positivity.
The Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat
On Sunday, July 24, 2016 we had the honor of representing the Running4 community as the occupant of the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat during the Kansas City Royals game at Kauffman Stadium.
Three days later, our mom Myra Sodergren became an angel after a 14-month battle with an inoperable brain tumor.
Throughout her battle, Mom continually encouraged us to keep supporting the fight against cancer by Running4 Angels, Fighters, and Survivors.
You got it, Mom.
WIBW – NYC50 Surprise Party
Under the guise of a surprise birthday party for our friend Amy Hedstrom, and with an assist from our friend Marleah Campbell of WIBW, a group of amazing friends pulls off the surprise of a lifetime!
WIBW – The Running4 Mission
An interview with our friends Melissa Brunner and Doug Brown of WIBW about the purpose behind the Running4 initiative.
KSNT – Running4 St. Jude
A profile by our friend McKenzi Davis of KSNT about our fundraising efforts while Running4 The Kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
WIBW – 50 State Celebration
Many thanks to WIBW’s Katie Maher for so perfectly capturing the essence of the Running4 mission at our 50(+1) Marathons, 60 Birthdays, and 35 School Years celebration!
Team Grit Podcast
An incredible visit with the crew of the “Team Grit Podcast” featuring Arrie Kridner, Brandon Wolak, and Grit’s poppa Nolan Henderson.
Topeka Capital Journal
By Brent Maycock
November 1, 2019
There has always been a reason for Steve Sodergren to run.
He took up cross country his freshman year at Seaman High School after his basketball coach told him he had to go out for a fall sport. “And since I weighed about 130 pounds, I wasn’t going to go out for football,” he joked.
About 20 years after graduation, Sodergren took up running marathons after watching his wife, Jenny, race in the 2003 Chicago Marathon. “For some reason, it grabbed a hold of me and I thought I’d like to do that,” he said.
What started as a bucket-list item soon became a passion for Sodergren. He ran in another marathon and another, and before he knew it Sodergren was on a mission to become a member of the 50 Marathon Club, which entails completing 50 marathons in all 50 states.
“I thought if I was going to keep doing them, I might as well do them in different states,” he said. “Once I got up to 20, I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to do them all.’”
Sodergren will complete that mission Sunday when he runs in the New York City Marathon, his 50th and final state. It’s taken 16 years for the 56-year-old Topekan to complete the journey.
St. Jude Inspire
By Michelle Corbet
October 18, 2019
Steve Sodergren was coming up on mile 20 of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon when he spotted her: a St. Jude patient cheering him on from her wheelchair. Protected from the cold, December drizzle by an overpass, she was completely bundled up, except for her face.
While other runners were pushing through to the last miles of the marathon, Steve stopped to meet the little girl and her family.
“I felt a pull, seeing her there clapping in her wheelchair,” Steve said. “I still get goosebumps.”
Kneeling down to ask her name, age and how she was feeling, Steve met Abi, who was less than six weeks from her first chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed that October with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. That morning, Abi was feeling good. She had taken her first steps without assistance since her diagnosis.
Topeka Capital Journal
By Shanna Sloyer
November 18, 2017
On a warm October afternoon, the colorful silicone bracelets on Topeka native Steve Sodergren’s wrists glow in the Kansas sunlight as he jogs down the road. Each bracelet bears the name or cause of someone who has survived or lost their battle with cancer.
“It became a way to let people know someone is thinking about them,” said Sodergren, founder of Running4, which to date has raised $19,000 to fund cancer research.
An avid runner, Sodergren began training for and running marathons in 2004, with the goal of competing in all 50 states. As he was poised to run his 33rd marathon in 2014, Sodergren had an epiphany that changed everything.
“It dawned on me how many people I knew who had battled cancer,” he said. “I needed to give this some purpose. If there was any way that I could lift somebody or let them know someone was thinking about them, that’s what I wanted to do.”
Topeka Capital Journal
By Phil Anderson
February 21, 2015
Steve Sodergren used to run marathons for himself.
Today, he runs for others, raising funds for cancer-related organizations each step of the way.
Sodergren is finding support from about 40 inmates in the Running Free club at the Topeka Correctional Facility, who on Saturday are conducting a 5-kilometer fundraising run to supplement his efforts.
Sodergren, a 51-year-old Topekan, was — in his own words — an “unremarkable” cross-country runner at Seaman High School before taking what he describes as a “20-year vacation.”
Then, a little more than a decade ago, he tied up his running shoes again and set sail on the back roads of Shawnee County.
Soon, he was ready to tackle his first marathon, a 26.2-mile race that tests a person’s physical and mental mettle.
Sodergren’s goal is to run a marathon in all 50 states, and he is well on his way to meeting that goal.
To date, he has run 32 marathons, each in a different state.
His next big event will be the Boston Marathon on April 20.
The Clipper
By Shyanne Osterhaus
February 12, 2015
When most people think
of running, they do not picture it as an enjoyable activity. But for Seaman High
School alumni Steve Sodergren, running is more than
just taking a few laps around
a track. For him, running is a
way to help raise money to be
put towards cancer research.
Steve is a graduate of SHS,
and his three children have
been students here. During
his time as a student he ran
cross-country, and he reluctantly admits he was very slow.
In 2004 he ran his very
first marathon, and after
that he set a goal to run a
marathon in every state. To
this point his count is up to
33 states, and he has multiple marathons scheduled
to run in the near future.
“Running has been a tremendous blessing in my life.
Through running, I have
met many incredibly generous and inspirational people
through the 50 States Marathon Club, the Marathon
Maniacs Club, and the running club at the Topeka Correctional Facility,” Steve says
