Jean Toth remains Johnnycake Jog, road racing constant

Jul. 1—Some certainties endure from season to season.

Cleveland weather will fluctuate from summer to fall to winter to spring and all the way in between in an instant.

Taxes will be due in April. The holidays will roll around in December.

And each July, Jean Toth will compete in the Johnnycake Jog.

In Jog lore, while there are several names who could be afforded this treatment, one of its greatest constants has been Toth.

The 87-year-old Wickliffe resident will be back for another swing at it July 9 when the Jog begins and ends at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Painesville Township.

Toth, with rightful pride in her voice, noted how her doctor marveled at her latest checkup, saying, "You're my idol."

Given her staying power, that may be true in broader circles as well — especially given her journey over the last four years.

"Oh, I've done 46," Toth said of the Jog. "I want to do them every year so I don't forget. The first year (1977), I didn't do it because that's when I started running, when they had their first Johnnycake Jog. It started in the afternoon — and I'm glad I didn't do it. (laughs)

"I think it's just great they do it every year. When I did the five-mile, the long stretch was hot. But I loved every year that I did do it with all my running friends."

The past tense is because these days, Toth's Jog participation is in the 5K portion of the event, not "Ohio's Finest 5-Miler" as she had all the way since nearly its inception.

That she is even in the 5K deep into her 80s is made even more laudable by what caused her to discontinue doing the five-mile race.

"In 2019, I had a valve replacement," Toth said. "And whatever they did to me, I woke up and I couldn't walk. I had a stroke. I had to learn to walk all over again.

"It wasn't too much (of a process). It was 2019, and I thought, going through therapy, they were teaching me how to walk again, going in the water and doing things. I had a cane. I kept the cane for a while, and then all of a sudden, I did the first YMCA 5K run, and I had a cane with someone watching me running. And they were with me. But then I thought, 'Oh no, I've got to get rid of this cane. I've got to do it on my own.'"

Toth also had a heart procedure in 2007.

"I had a valve replacement then in 2007, and everything went well," Toth explained. "I had no problems. So I don't know what happened (in 2019)."

She last participated in the five-mile portion of the Jog in 2019, winning the 75-and-over division in 1 hour, 13 minutes, 28.3 seconds.

Sans the cane, in her last two Jog appearances in the 5K, Toth was the 80-and-over winner in 2021, 172nd of 206 runners, with a 54:46, and went 57:20 to take second in her division at the Jog last July.

The mother of five didn't start running competitively until her 40s, including a highlight 3:18 during a race in Columbus that qualified her for the 1981 Boston Marathon. Toth did the Boston Marathon twice, making another appearance in 1983.

Golden anniversary for Wickliffe marathoner Toth

Toth has not slowed down in the least.

In 2022, she was the 80-and-over top placer at the Garfield Gallop (56:19), Mentor Nissan 5K (59:14), Shamrock Run Mentor 5K (58:40), Captains Grand Slam 5K (55:53), Bigfooter 5K (1:00.52) and Run Santa Run (59:26) among her race slate, consistently staying around or well under an hour in every instance.

This year already, Toth has participated in the Fiesta 5K (1:10:47) and Mentor Nissan 5K (57:38), also winning her division each time.

"With the 5Ks, any time they have the 5Ks, I'm running," Toth said. "I have the Captains one coming up (July 2), so I'll be doing that because it's a 5K.

"I go to the Y six times a week. I go in the water in the morning. At night I go back and do upstairs strength training. Then I do cycling. Then I do yoga. I keep on going."

Toth also acknowledged the role balance work at the Y has done with her running in recent years.

At this point, Toth has enough medals and trinkets from road races that she could fill a small museum.

"Oh yeah, you should see my room," Toth said, the sparkle clear in her voice. "I have a rack for my marathons in the family room. I have two racks for 5Ks that are filled with trophies that I got from that.

"What I love most is my big trophies. I have the ones when I first got running. Those ones are great. I will never give those away."

Toth will also never give away her indomitable spirit.

It's a testament to her fortitude and longevity, a constant among the realm of the most assured facets of life.

"I have a couple of men, when they get done, they come and say, 'Boy, let me hang with you the rest of the way.' And they do," Toth said. "They stay with me the rest of the way and keep me going.

"When I was running really good, mothers had younger kids with them. I used to push them. I'd say, 'OK, you want this old lady to beat you? Come on, let's go.' Oh boy, they went. So I kept the young people going."

Johnnycake Jog

When: July 9

Where: Lake County Fairgrounds (beginning and end)

Schedule: 8 a.m., five-mile run and 8:15 a.m., 5K run and walk

Registration: Visit gcxcracing.com/eventsoh and follow the Johnnycake Jog link.

Packet pickup: July 8 at Second Sole in Mentor from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and July 9 from 7-8 a.m. at the Fairgrounds before the race.