S.J. Resident Helping Hungry, One Mile at a Time

Running gets Kristen Stehm out of the house. It clears her mind and tones her body. It makes her feel like a woman.

Stehm, of Cinnaminson, is channeling all this positive energy into a goal. That goal is to run a half-marathon in each of the 50 states.

She’s not stopping there. Stehm hopes to raise awareness for hunger at the same time, teaming up with the locally to solicit donations and help those in need.

“I don’t think people understand that yes, in this area, in Burlington County, in Cinnaminson, there’s people who are hungry,” Stehm said. 

The beginning
About three years ago, Stehm wanted to lose weight. So, she and a friend took up running to shed some pounds. Her first feat was making it all the way around the track at . That’s 8/10 of a mile.

Running every day, Stehm's friend suggested the two of them sign up for a 5K run along Cooper River. It was a few months away, so Stehm trained hard.

“It was awesome,” Stehm said of finishing the race. “I felt like I could do anything. I felt like a strong woman.”

She set her sights on a 10K.

She and her friend trained for that run, which went over to Philadelphia and back through Camden. Being a mom to two boys, there were some days she’d wake up and wait for that text message from her friend saying she didn’t want to run.

But, Stehm knew training was what she needed to do. She started at-home training programs to work up to 13.1 miles—a half marathon.

“It was great,” Stehm said. “Whatever the schedule said that’s what I’d do.”

Three weeks before the half-marathon however, Stehm had surgery to remove her appendix.

“I’ve been busting my hump trying to train for this,” she remembers telling her surgeon, also a runner. “I didn’t want to have to do it all over again.”

She got the okay to run from her surgeon; if she felt good, do it.

This time, Stehm and her family went to New Brunswick, to Rutgers for the race. When they arrived, she found out the course was flooded, so the race was pushed back to 10 miles, instead of 13.1.

“I still got the medal,” Stehm said, “but it didn’t count for me.”

Shortly after, she did another race in North Jersey and officially finished that one.

After that, Stehm said, she was done. She was finished with running

Her biggest goal
After the half-marathon, admittedly, Stehm wasn’t exercising.

“I wasn’t doing anything,” she said. “I needed a goal. I needed some type of motivation.”

Stehm wondered if she should go for a full marathon after someone asked if she would try it.

“Well, it’s only 13 more miles…” Stehm remembered with a smile.

So, she trained hard and last November, she ran her first marathon. Stehm’s motivation returned, prompting her to set her next goal—run a half-marathon in each state.

“It’s a lofty goal, but it sounded like it would be fun,” Stehm said.

And, Stehm is pairing her goal up with a good cause—supporting the Food Bank of South Jersey.

"It’s good for my mind, it’s good for my behind" has been Stehm’s mantra but she thought it was self-indulgent.

“I’ll do it for raising awareness for hunger,” Stehm said. “You don’t realize that every day, people are going without food.”

Using her graphic design knowledge—Stehm recently lost her job as a designer—she made a website with donation links directly on the page. And, she’s selling t-shirts for $20 for the fundraising. They can be bought at , the Cinnaminson Avenue shop she and her husband own.

The couple has lived in the township for nine years and the shop has been in business for almost four. All donations to support Stehm go right to the Food Bank.

“It’s just really making people aware of it,” Stehm said. “When I train, I wear a shirt. It’s a conversation piece, just to get people talking, to let people know there’s a lot of hungry people out there.”

The half-marathons
Right now, Stehm is figuring out the East Coast leg of her half-marathon tours.  She’s already finished Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. She has North Carolina planned for Feb. 4, New York on March 24, Delaware on May 13 and Connecticut on June 3.

And, she’s blogging her whole experience.

She’s following a schedule of running four days a week and cross-training one day a week. She gives herself two days off.

“It’s good for me,” Stehm said. “It’s good for my head. And the reason I’m doing it across the country is for the Food Bank.”

Stehm, who has always been involved with the Food Bank, also has a donation box for the Pennsauken center set up at Stehm’s. She encourages people to drop off peanut butter and jelly.

“It’s good for you and the kids love it,” she said.

No more a chore
Running used to be a chore for Stehm but since she started, she’s grown to love it.

“I missed it when I didn’t do it,” she said. “My head missed it. It was really good for my head.”

Stehm said out on the road, there’s no television on, there’s no phone ringing.

“It gives me time away,” she said.

And now, she’s doing it for a great cause.

“Hunger is an issue all over the country,” she said. “If I’m going to run, I’m going to make a difference.”

Visit Stehm's website at www.whyrun50.com.