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Kallup McCoy (2nd row left) is pictured with his team of athletes he coaches after the Indianapolis Marathon this past October, including his wife Katelynn Ledford-McCoy (1st row, 3rd from left).
Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
A full circle moment—that’s what Kallup McCoy II had when he was recently featured in Men’s Health Magazine’s First Step series sharing the story of his transformation from drug addiction to marathon runner and personal trainer.
“The crazy back story is whenever I was in jail in 2017, I remember us getting a Men’s Health body weight workout guide,” McCoy recalls.
That guide was incorporated into his workouts that, paired with a spiritual practice, transformed his life. He went from believing he was worthless to achieving challenging goals.
“I want other people to see that, especially people that may be reading this paper that’s locked up and hear my story, and I want it to inspire them to go out and chase their dreams not only to better themselves but our community and families as well,” he said.
Out of jail, McCoy competed in Ironman competitions and has since become an accomplished marathon runner.
He ran in his first Boston Marathon last year— placing 650th among male runners with a time of 2:40:24.
He’s pushing for the next challenge. Training even involved a 17-mile morning run before the interview for this story. His next goal is to win the Asheville Marathon coming up on March 16. He will then return for a second Boston Marathon.
“I’ve been training for anything so whatever the weather throws at me, I’ll be ready,” he said.
Also on the horizon is a documentary called “A Runner’s High” retelling his story of running the Trail of Tears in 2018 that is slated for release in March.
Overcoming the stigmas associated with recovery and achieving despite barriers is part of that story.
“Ultimately, that’s what led me to run the Trail of Tears,” he said. With felony drug convictions on his record, he was disqualified from the Remember the Removal annual bike ride to Oklahoma.
Alongside his wife Katelynn Ledford-McCoy, he founded RezHOPE, which will be opening a men’s recovery house this spring. Along with helping these men transition back into society by finding steady employment, they hope to incorporate endurance sports and the rewards of accomplishing its associated challenges.
“I feel like it’s so rewarding, and I want our guys to know what it feels like and not squander this second chance they have with life and creating memories.”
He’s also inspiring other runners across the country working as a personal trainer and coach with Lion’s Den Fitness and Running.
For a little while he was unsure he was serving people with this new career after working at a homeless shelter for three years.
“I told Katelynn, I don’t feel like I’m serving people like I was, and she said, ‘you are helping people to have confidence, get healthy and do things they didn’t think they could do.’ That is so rewarding,” McCoy said.
In October, he joined 15 of the runners he coaches at the Indianapolis Marathon and watched them come together to do something some never dreamed was possible. He said watching them cross the finish line was a powerful experience.
It gave him a sense of disbelief that he gets to train people for a living and watch their confidence and self-esteem grow.
“True satisfaction comes from struggle and seeing people work through those things and accomplish something,” McCoy said.