Essie Garrett

Essie Garrett (1947 to 1 April 2014) was an American ultramarathon runner and refrigeration mechanics instructor at Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver, Colorado. Raised in Riesel, Texas, she joined the Army at age 16, served for three years and then settled in Denver. Since 1981 she is estimated to have run 25,000 miles and raised over 1 million dollars for charity, and every Thanksgiving since 1991 she ran for 48 hours in laps around the Colorado Capitol building to raise money for the homeless. She was a Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame inductee in 1992 and an Olympic torchbearer for Colorado in 1996.