Joni Adams' presence was felt throughout every fiber of the Charleston Distance Run. She was there for the opening gun in every race since 1976. She had been on the race's committee since 1999, her innovations adding to the fun of the event.
Following her death in the June floods that devastated so many across West Virginia, there really was no question among the Distance Run's committee members that they would dedicate the Sept. 3 race in her memory.
"That was almost a given we'd be doing that," race director John Palmer said.
But that would only be the start, and far from the end. Her influence was woven into the fabric of the entire event. It was only fitting that the Distance Run's tribute would stretch throughout this year's race and into the future.
Adams was a decades-long fixture in the Kanawha Valley running community, who fell in love with the Charleston Distance Run in 1975 when she watched Violet Leonard compete and thought to herself, "If she can do it, so can I." And so she did, for 40 Distance Runs.
And she was much more than a competitor. She presented the awards after the race was over. She spent nearly 17 years helping make the race a standout event.
"She was always willing to help with anything that needed to be done," Palmer said. "She was quite a worker, very reliable. She was just a really dedicated person."
Adams devised one of the more popular events of the race in 2004, the relay run. Three-person teams enter, each person running a portion of the 15-mile course. Adams was one of them, taking advantage of a rule that allowed someone running the entire race to also run the first leg of the relay.
It is there that the Charleston Distance Run will offer an indelible tribute. The winners of the male, female and coed relay races will now win the Joni Adams Memorial Relay Award.
The Distance Run will go even further this year in honoring Adams' memory. Her bib number, 50, for the 2016 race will go to her nephew Caleb Adams. He won the event's 5K race last year, and will step up to the 15-mile race in September.
Caleb Adams would run the relay with his aunt as a tribute to his grandfather and her father, George. Now he'll run in his aunt's memory, too. Another No. 50 bib, printed in gold, will be framed and hung at the race packet pickup at the Charleston Civic Center on Sept. 2.
From start to finish, Joni Adams' memory will be etched into the Charleston Distance Run. And Palmer said she earned it.
"She was one of the bright lights of the running community," he said. "We all feel a great sense of loss without her."
Joni Adams wasn't just a runner or a member of the race committee. She was a motivator. The former middle school teacher never left her calling. She recruited and nurtured new runners, bringing so many into the sport she had loved for so long. She wanted others to share the joy she felt when she took off to race.
There will be sadness on race day. Many in the Charleston Distance Run will feel something missing when they look around and can't find their friend for the first time in four decades. Yet, Palmer said, Joni Adams would never want that to keep them from toeing the starting line.
"She'd want us to keep on running," Palmer said. "And we will."
And they'll carry her spirit with them every step of the way.
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.