Running transformed her life. And created relationships spanning the globe.
In Other News #32 // Celebrating nonpolitical stories that bind us together.
It was the spring of 2020. Just like everything else in our life, running events were being canceled amid the pandemic.
Then, my friend Joanne—an avid world traveler, with connections to people around the globe—heard about a woman in Germany who was organizing something called the Easter World Run.
It was a simple idea with a beautiful concept: On the Saturday before Easter, runners around the world were invited to run from 9am to 10am, local time. There would be 24 hours of continuous running rippling across time zones and continents.
Joanne said she wanted to run—did I, too? Yes! Of course, we ran separately. Everyone ran separately, since we were all quarantining and taking pandemic precautions.
But the concept made us all feel united, and the woman behind it all—Kati Jaeger—created a Facebook group where we all posted photos from our runs. How amazing and inspiring, to see all the beautiful locations where runners logged their miles.
Fast-forward to the spring of 2025: For the sixth year, from her home in Rostock, Germany, Kati organized the Easter World Run. It’s such a positive event, transcending politics, borderlines and other divisions.
Instead, it celebrates running’s power to unite people across all boundaries. I knew it was a story I wanted to highlight here In Other News. So I reached out to Kati to find out more about her own running journey and whether she ever imagined the Easter World Runs evolving past the pandemic.
“No, of course not,” says Kati with a laugh.
“The first year, I remember that feeling—people I’d never met in real life, started following me on Facebook—and I remember thinking, “What’s going on?”
That first year, Kati frequently popped onto the Facebook page, live, giving recaps about how many people were running and where, totaling the mileage and number of participants. It was a party-like atmosphere. Her partner Andreas brought her ice cream. She remembers her son being very proud of his mom. They played table tennis during one of the Facebook live events, and people around the globe watched. Her life intertwined with the Easter World Run and she shared it with strangers—soon-to-become-friends—in countries around the world. That first Easter World Run attracted 650 runners.
Creating a movement
“It was something very, very incredible—it was so incredible, marvelous that they all joined me,” Kati reflects.
“I’m a very normal person—I must say that—and people started admiring me which I didn’t like. I hated it actually—because this could’ve been anybody else. The unbelievable thing was how they all motivated each other.”
What inspired her to create that very first Easter World Run during April of 2020?
The root of Kati’s motivation goes back a bit further—about five years before the pandemic, when Kati was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following a mastectomy, her doctor expressed concern for her weight and her overall health.
“I was a sports girl throughout my childhood and youth, and then I stopped—I didn’t move enough,” Kati explains.
She decided to make exercising a priority.
“I thought—I might walk, I might run, let’s see what happens,” Kati recalls.
She began by walking and running intervals. Pretty soon, she was running more than she was walking. And by late 2015, it was all running for Kati.
“I lost lots of weight—more than 40 pounds,” Kati says. “I felt great and I became very, very active.”
Reaching for the stars
In 2016, she began running races.
“Somehow, I decided, ‘Ok, I’ve overcome this illness, and now I want to do something for me. I want to have that six-star medal for the six big majors of the world,’” says Kati, referring to the Abbott World Marathon Majors—Toyko, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City. Sydney was recently added as a seventh marathon.
But Kati felt like she needed a trainer to help her attain this lofty goal.
“Having a mentor would be great, so I found somebody from Wisconsin named Kyle. He’s a very experienced runner, and he wrote my training plans. We started texting every day in November of 2018.”
Coincidentally, Kati and Kyle discovered that they had both run the Chicago Marathon the month before—in October of 2018, on Kati’s 50th birthday. Little did they know their paths had crossed and would cross again.
“We became good friends, but then came the Corona times,” says Kati. “I had registered for the Tokyo Marathon, which was the first major to be canceled in March of 2020. I went there with my partner and brother-in-law. We had a very fine week there and watched the elites race.”
When Kati returned home to Germany, she wanted to put all of her training to good use. Yet, more and more races were being canceled.
“Somehow, I had the idea to ask Kyle to run a half marathon that Friday—Good Friday—but Kyle said he had no time and could not run,” Kati recalls. Of course, they would have run separately—Kati in Germany and Kyle in Wisconsin—yet connected through technology.
“Then I asked Kyle about Saturday, and he couldn’t run. And I got more and more angry,” Kati says.
Then she had an idea that would reverberate around the globe.
A worldwide movement
She thought about all of her international friends. She had connected with many of them in Facebook groups for breast cancer survivors. She’d connected with others through running circles.
“I thought, ‘Ok, if I ask other runners on Facebook, what would happen? And this was the beginning,” Kati says with a laugh. “One week in advance, I started texting in three or four Facebook groups.”
The idea was pretty simple: On Easter Saturday, from 9am to 10am, wherever you are, walk or run, and “maybe we can pass the baton around the world,” Kati posted.
She still remembers the first response: After five minutes, Tim from Dublin was the first to join Kati’s Easter World Run.
She created an Easter World Run Facebook page, and went to bed. By the time she woke up the next morning, 30 to 40 people had agreed to run. Over the next few days, responses kept pouring in. By Tuesday, she said to Andreas, “I have done something. On Easter Saturday, I won’t have any time for anybody in the family.”
Within the week, the page had 2,000 followers. On Easter Saturday, 650 runners participated—each of them posting and/or sending Kati their location, time zone, and mileage. She meticulously logged it all into a spreadsheet.
“Many people said that first year that I saved their life—which I don’t believe—but they said they would have gone crazy because of corona. So this was a very nice distraction for them and for me as well.”
Across the globe, nearly every time zone had runners. But there were a few gaps—across the Atlantic Ocean, west of Alaska—in Siberia and Mongolia, as well as west Africa. But a few runners couldn’t run between 9 and 10 due to work, so they covered the gaps.
The energy on the Facebook page was palpable. Smiling running selfies, interspersed with run stats, additional photos of spring flowers, scenery of all types, across Japan, Europe, the U.S. and Canada—all of those posts attracted “likes” and encouraging comments that connected people during a time when many of us felt very isolated.
Kati started calling all who participated “the great racers.”
And a tradition was born: Every year since, Kati has organized an Easter World Run. Participation has lessened over the years. This past April of 2025, 140 runners around the globe participated (including me).
Yet, Kati has formed deep friendships with many of the great racers.
“There are so many side stories, so many moving stories,” about why people have run her Easter World Runs, Kati says.
Still running
As for Kati, just days ago, she completed the North Sea 70k, a 7-day run of 10k daily. As for her world marathon goal, she’s completed all of them except Boston.
“It’s unreachable for me,” says Kati, due to the tough BQ—Boston-qualifying time requirement. So, she’s one waiting lists to run Boston via a travel agency, which would complete her dream goal.
When she’s not running, she stays extremely busy by juggling several jobs:
She’s an English and Russian teacher—not to traditional students—but for future driving instructors. In a related position, she also supervises driving schools by giving exams to teachers. Kati also works in quality management, as an auditor who evaluates how educational institutions qualify people who are unemployed. During the summer season, she also works as a tour guide in Rostock and the surrounding region along the Baltic Sea. As if that’s not enough, she’s also the administrator for her family’s rental properties of nine apartments.
So that begs the question: How does she had time for running?
“I am one of those people who can get up early to run and then get ready for work,” says Kati, who runs four times a week.
As for the Easter World Run and the power of running to unite people around the world, year after year…
“Of course it’s amazing,” Kati reflects, six years later, “And now I’m getting used to it a little bit.”
Nature Nugget
A quick travel tip and photo, sharing incredible views, trails, or parks
April 2020: These were my photographs from my first Easter World Run. Blooms, jumping pups running alongside me, and a virtually empty Pennsylvania Turnpike aside from the occasional truck.
Luna Lens
Sharing a photo of my fluffy floofy dog Luna… because there’s plenty of fluff to go around.
All smiles: This was Luna’s grin, last weekend, aboard our RV for a getaway.
Comfort Corner
A great recipe, or a Spotify song. Comfort food or chill tunes. Maybe both.
Inspired by Kati’s Easter World Run, I pulled out a song that sparked a worldwide movement. Remember, “We Are the World”—the song that raised money to combat world hunger?”
Thanks for reading… and I wish you a wonderful week ahead!
Be well,
Karen
