CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Louisa County High School English teacher Kate Fletcher, in her latest Lion Pride run Monday into Tuesday, ran 107 miles from the high school to Jamestown to raise money for college scholarships for county students.
Running in her traditional tutu, she started running the halls in the high school around 8 a.m. Monday.
She ran on various routes to Richmond and, about halfway to Jamestown, she picked up the Virginia Capitol Trail for the final 53 miles to the Jamestown settlement.
Fletcher started her runs in 2016. Since then, she’s raised more than $100,000 in scholarship money that some 35 county students have used.
“When I’m driving to school in the morning, I see some homes along my route that I just know the families living in them must be struggling,” she said in a 2018 GoFundMe video. “And I know that I teach those kids, and we have to keep in mind they’re bringing that with them when they come to school.”
That first year in 2016, she ran from the beginning of the school day to the end.
In subsequent years she ran 24 hours on the high school’s track, she’s run cross-county, another year she ran to the State Capitol in Richmond, and two years ago she got national media coverage when she ran from the high school 105 miles to the Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.
This year, her 2026 run in honor of America 250 made her destination Jamestown.
At around 11:30 a.m., some 27 hours after she started running, Fletcher crossed a finish lane near the James River with about 100 students and supporters greeting her along with the school’s marching band.
“Hey, Louisa, thanks so much for your support, I made it to Jamestown,” Fletcher said upon finishing the run. “It was a great day and night of running, and I can’t wait to see you on Wednesday at school.”
In enduring such long runs, Fletcher said she reminds herself who she is running for.
“We see students who may not realize that college is something that’s even an option for them,” Fletcher said. “I think a lot of students believe they just can’t afford college and that’s something for other kids, which is just heartbreaking.”
