Running a marathon is something only 1% of people do. Completing 100 marathons is a feat few runners achieve or even consider. For Deanna Kiesel, it represents decades of determination, resilience and a passion for fitness. Training on her ElliptiGO bike helped Deanna to achieve this incredible milestone in April. Our December 2024 Rider of the Month shares how running her 100th marathon is just one chapter in her ongoing fitness journey.
Deanna grew up on a dairy farm in Tiffin, Ohio. After working as an elementary physical education teacher for 32 years, she retired. Today Deanna lives in Findlay, Ohio, and works for a running shoe store.
Fitness has been more than a profession for her; it’s been a way of life. In high school, Deanna was a basketball and softball player. After high school, she turned to running. She began running more and more miles, and in 1988 she completed her first marathon. Once she crossed the finish line, Deanna says that she declared, “I am never doing that again!”
Turns out that wasn’t the case. After all, Deanna describes running as her “happy place.” Over the past four decades, she has run nearly 110,000 miles! She has completed more than 1,200 races, including many, many more marathons.
Deanna discovered ElliptiGO bikes at the 2012 Glass City Marathon expo. She took her first test ride a few weeks later. “I immediately knew I needed to add it to my fitness regimen,” she recalls. “I purchased an 8C in May 2012. It was the best money I ever spent!”
Initially, Deanna used her ElliptiGO primarily for injury recovery. “Then along came COVID, and you can only run so many miles,” she says. As she began riding more often, Deanna expanded her collection to include a 10th Anniversary 11R. Then in 2022, she purchased a Stand Up to Cancer 11R, which was a particularly meaningful addition because she is a breast cancer survivor.
“Riding my ElliptiGO has become a huge part of my physical and mental health,” says Deanna. “I now ride my GO more miles than I drive my car. I ride everywhere I can, including commuting to work.”
That helps her rack up the miles in GOGO, the annual Get Out and GO riding challenge organized by the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club (GERC). “I love all the great swag I have earned through participating in GOGO,” she says. “It’s also excellent motivation to ride when it’s cold, rainy, snowy or windy.” Deanna has logged more than 28,000 lifetime ElliptiGO miles.
Deanna also rides in cycling events on her ElliptiGO bike. One event in particular stands out: Pelotonia, a fundraising ride for cancer research. “I’m pretty sure most people at that event, riders and spectators alike, had never seen an ElliptiGO before,” Deanna says. “I felt like a rock star.” She also gained the respect of every rider on the route as she hammered out 50 miles and raised funds for a great cause.
Riding ElliptiGO bikes benefits Deanna’s triathlon and running training, improving both her cycling and running. Earlier this year, she reached the extraordinary milestone of running 100 marathons. When a serious knee issue limited her run training, elliptical cycling was the solution. Deanna explains, “The ElliptiGO allowed me to stay in great running shape without all the pounding.”
Deanna knew her body was telling her it was time to stop marathoning, but she was driven by her own battle with cancer and by the memory of two of her friends, Ken DeMarco and Bob Edds, who had both been diagnosed with terminal cancer around the same time. Deanna told the Toledo Blade, “Those two, Bob and Ken, showed me ultimate determination, and I decided, ‘You know what, I’m doing this for them.’” She had run every single day during her breast cancer treatment and recovery. Now she would run for Bob and Ken.
Deanna crossed the Glass City Marathon finish line in April 2024, completing her 100th marathon.
Soon after, she realized she needed to do something about her knee. Deanna scheduled knee replacement surgery, then used her ElliptiGO bikes for pre-hab leading up to the operation. Deanna’s surgery was just weeks ago, on November 4, 2024. “I credit ElliptiGO for my quick and relatively painless recovery so far,” she says.
As Deanna looks ahead to 2025, she’s focused on returning to running and triathlons, starting with a 5K in June and then the 2025 Pelotonia in August. “I can’t wait to get back to my routine of running, riding, and swimming,” she says. “I am confident the ElliptiGO is going to be a huge part of my recovery and my future training.”
Through all of the miles she has ridden, run, and swum, Deanna is thankful for the support she’s received from the ElliptiGO community. She shares, “I am forever grateful to all of the amazing people I have met along the way.”
Congratulations, Deanna, on being our December 2024 Rider of the Month! Here’s to many more miles of riding, running and inspiring others. We look forward to cheering you on in your recovery and in your future races, rides and adventures. Keep GOing strong!
You can contact ElliptiGO with nominations to Rider of the Month or share your own story. It may just be the next feature!
