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Ellie Grammas runs fast—at 12, she’s already clocked a 19:11 5K and a 5:35 mile. But ask for her greatest running moment, and she brightly describes the time another member of her cross-country team beat her by a half-second.
“We ran down the straightaway together—it was just so nice to run down the end with a teammate,” she told Runner’s World.
Now, Grammas has another highlight in her early but impressive career. On Sunday, the Niles, Illinois, runner ran Chicago’s Shamrock Shuffle 8K with two-time race champion and Olympian Alexi Pappas.
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Wearing matching bracelets inscribed with the words “be brave,” the pair completed the race in 31:53, earning Grammas first place in her 14-and-younger age group and 100th among the more than 11,000 women in the race.
Sure, the time was slower than Pappas’ 26:17 winning time last year or 26:32 the year before. But for the elite runner—coming off a downtime in training after competing in the 10,000 meters in Rio for Greece (she has dual citizenship)—the experience held even more meaning than defending her title might have.
PODCAST: Alexi Pappas talks about training in and competing for Greece
“Running with Ellie and thinking about our teammateship gives me more gratitude for running,” she said before the race. “For me to have this close connection that started at this race and is culminating in this new way—I’m going to run beyond myself.”
Their friendship began at the expo for the Shamrock Shuffle last year. Grammas was signed up to run the race for the second time after finishing the 2015 race in 36:01 at age 10. But she became sick shortly beforehand. DeeDee Grammas, Ellie’s mother, told her she had to sit this one out.
Though Ellie was upset, she went to the convention center anyway. There, she met Pappas at an exhibitor booth, and the two bonded because they have family from the same Greek Island, Rhodes.
“I didn’t have family here to come watch me in the race, and I felt like Ellie’s family just embraced me,” Pappas said. “And Ellie—this, young, inspiring, studly runner—it was a really special moment to meet her and have that connection.”
Newly inspired, Ellie Grammas went to the race the next day to cheer on Pappas. She made a sign that said “May all your dreams come true,” in English and in Greek.
The two brunched together afterward, then kept up a yearlong friendship by email and text. The Grammas family even went to visit Pappas in Eugene, Oregon, last year. Ellie said she dreams of running there at the University of Oregon one day, just like Pappas did when she was in graduate school.
Pappas’ life beyond running has also had an impact on the younger runner. The Olympian famously has many non-athletic talents—she’s a poet, actress, and filmmaker. The movie she cowrote, codirected, and stars in—Tracktown—was shown at festivals last year and will be released nationwide next month.
“Last year, Alexi told Ellie to embrace junior high,” DeeDee Grammas said. So, Ellie entered a poetry contest. She ran for student council. She also took dance and played volleyball.
Pappas credits her own mentor, Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor, for instilling this broad view. “One of the things that I learned from Deena is to be a well-rounded and happy person, exploring different things that are positive feedback loops to running,” she says.
Kastor was on hand Sunday—in fact, the three runners warmed up together. (Kastor, 44, finished the race in 27:42.)
“It’s beautiful to see Alexi—you couldn’t ask for a better mentor than her—inspiring and encouraging Ellie to keep up the good work,” Kastor said. “Because Ellie’s gifted, but you can also see the joy on her face. It’s a magical combination when you can add that enjoyment in the sport with the gift itself.”
Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
