Virtual Run Installment #7 - Caldwell Ohio to Marietta, Ohio

Miles Since Last Camp on March 15 - 27.4

Total Miles - 259.4

Number of States Visited - 2 (PA, OH)

Prior Camp- Caldwell, OH

Current Camp - Marietta, OH

National Parks Visited: 1/51

Next Park: New River Gorge, WV (91 Miles)

Weight: 175.0 (-5.0)

Injuries: None

Nags - R knee hurts and is stiff.

May 21 2026

Welcome to the Seventh Installment of the Virtual Run to 51 National Parks! For this project, I am using my actual real-world mileage to plot a continuous course starting in Pittsburgh and visiting every National Park in the continental United States.

(Note: You can read the previous installments here)

Virtual Run 1st Installment - Pittsburgh to Volant, PA

Virtual Run 2nd Installment Volant to Leavittsburg, OH

Virtual Run 3rd Installment Leavittsburg to Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Virtual Run 4th Installment to Canton, OH

Virtual Run #5 - Canton to Newcomerstown, OH

Virtual Run 6th Installment - To Caldwell, Ohio

It’s close. It’s real close. I’ve run 259.4 miles from Pittsburgh and it’s taken me to Marietta, OH. I’m 1.2 miles from WV. This has been a weird and uncomfortable fortnight since the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. I’ve kept my mileage low because next Sunday I run a Half Marathon in Boston, MA. And after that, I begin training for the shorter races while keeping the big picture of the Corning Wineglass full Marathon in early October in mind. So you could say that my plate is full.

The New York Times calls Marietta The Town Where The West Began for good reasons. NYT Article on Marietta, OH. It was the first chartered city in the Northwest Territory, the massive wilderness region that was the first expansion of the United States.

The town was first settled in 1788 by General Rufus Putnam and 47 former Revolutionary War officers and Mound Cemetery is the final resting place of more Revolutionary War officers than any other graveyard in the nation!

Marietta birthed distinguished citizens including governors, senators and even a vice president. Charles Dawes would become Coolidge’s VP. Dawes would go onto win the Nobel Peace prize for his work on WW1 reparations. Marietta’s citizens also stepped up for the cause of civil rights. Ephraim Cutler cast the vote that prevented Ohio from becoming a slave state. Marietta College would become part of the Underground railroad that helped move slaves to freedom during the Civil War.

Marietta is also the home of luminaries from Pirates Kent Tekulve and manager Jim Tracy. Terry Mulholland, who threw a no-hitter with the Phillies is from Marietta. So are the Black Crowes.

The William Root House is one of the oldest surviving homes in the area. Its most unusual attraction is a highly detailed Victorian Funeral Exhibit. The museum features mourning jewelry meticulously woven from actual human hair and an authentic, fully restored 1800s wooden embalming table. Visitors frequently report strange drafts, moving latch-locks, and the distinct feeling of being watched near the exhibit.

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I hope that you will join me for this next leg (Virtual and Real). And if you go on your own real or virtual journey, please let me know! I’d love to follow you on your ride.