Come Run With Me

and I’ll show you what I see

A runner most of his life, at the age of 59, James “Opa” Carnahan became an Ultra-runner.

After years of leg and hip pain, in 2014 he had a “Birmingham Re-surfacing surgery”, a fairly new procedure that replaced traditional hip surgery allowing the patient to continue the activities they love. What OpaRuns loved was running so he took a chance.  Just like the surgeon said, he could still run, what he didn’t tell him was it might be at a slower pace.

Frustrated and a little depressed, he continued to run and then one day he walked into his favorite shoe store and had a chance encounter a world-renowned Ultra-runner, Connie Gardner.  She shared her story of Ultra Running.  Like most endurance sports, the pace is slower and that was just what Opa needed to give him renewed hope to continue his love of running only in a different way.   OpaRuns entered his first Ultra Race in 2017, it was during his yearlong training that he discovered another passion, photography. 

The slower pace allowed him to see the wonders that surrounded him and the opportunity to capture it on camera to share with others.  With his iPhone in hand, he began taking photos of his morning runs and posting them on social media.  Much to his surprise, people loved them and began looking forward to his daily posts. With encouragement from his family and friends he started a photography blog and from that blog came this book. 

Filled with images throughout the trails and other locations in Northeast Ohio,  readers will be inspired, uplifted, encouraged and maybe even motivated to open their eyes to see what is in front and around them.