The Energizer Bunny has nothing on Eddi Walker.
That is what we kept saying as we rode in the Butte-Silver Bow Police Department’s mobile command center vehicle and watched Eddi run on Interstate 90. She just kept going and going and going.
We were part of the Butte team in the Montana Special Olympics Torch Run. We were running the torch from Three Forks to Butte. That is about 60 miles, and every year Eddi runs a good chunk of that by herself.
Even though there is always a handful of runners who run as far as they can, Eddi usually runs more than 20 of those miles.
She takes the first leg from the Wheat Montana Bakery in Three Forks to the top of Cardwell Hill. That is about 17 miles — almost entirely uphill, too.
As we watched her run, Eddi wasn’t breaking any speed records because she was close to 70 at the time. But she kept a steady pace. Like Jason Voorhees chasing a victim through the woods on a spooky night, she just kept going and going and going.
Without question, Eddi is the toughest person I know.
No, she doesn’t have a knockout punch, and she certainly isn’t going to body slam you. She weighs close to nothing.
But Eddi is tough. She is so very tough. She is probably too tough for her own good.
A couple of years ago, Eddi needed surgery to reconstruct one of her shoulders. She couldn’t lift her arm over her head. It must have been hurting all day and all night, and this suffering went on for months.
It probably hurt for years, but Eddi wouldn’t show any signs of pain.
Eventually, Eddi underwent shoulder surgery — but not until she competed in the triathlon she had been training for all year.
The surgeon had to wait until Eddi was ready because excuses are for other people, not Eddi.
Not long after surgery, Eddi was back out on the road running again. And running. And running.
The more remarkable thing about Eddie, though, is how much she gives to others. For so many special functions around town, Eddi is an instrumental part of the team behind the scenes.
Without her and a few others — like Jim McCarthy, Jim Michelotti and Pat Lee — the Butte Sports Hall of Fame would have probably gone away after the untimely death of Pat Kearney, a co-founder and chairman of the great Butte organization, in 2014.
Every year, Eddie makes sure we have food and drinks for both nights of the Hall of Fame inductions. She makes sure we have table cloths, balloons, a red carpet and sponsorship money. Without her, I don’t know how we would get along.
Then, Eddi leaves the event early each night so she can go work at the Silver-Bow Drive-In. She doesn’t even get to enjoy the event that she helps make possible.
She doesn’t go to work at the drive-in because she is that desperate for money. She does it because she is helping her friends Mark and Holly Hansen put on the show.
As usual, Eddi puts the needs of others above her own.
I would say that Eddi is worth her weight in gold when it comes to the Butte Sports Hall of Fame, but she hardly weighs anything at all. She is worth my weight in gold. And your weight. And your overweight neighbor’s weight.
Her contributions don’t stop at the Hall of Fame, either. Not even close.
Eddi also made sure the Veteran’s Day Race, Montana’s oldest road race, stayed alive and well after Kearney’s death. She twice had to redesign the course. She also handles so much of the logistics of the race — like making sure runners have awards and people blocking traffic on the busy streets.
At last year’s race, I really got a glimpse of just how much Eddi gives of herself on Veterans Day.
She marked the course and then headed to Helena to coach her team in the Montana Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament. She stayed in Helena that night and coached a game in the morning.
Then, she drove back to Butte to start and then run the race. After the race, she headed back to Helena to coach her team in another game.
Eddi is behind almost every road race in town — running or biking. So many times, she would be out after dark marking the course. Then she would have to get up at the crack of dawn and do it again because it snowed overnight.
I could spend all day pointing out the good things Eddi does, but you would run out of daylight trying to read it. It would be like trying to list all the times the Dallas Cowboys choked in the playoffs.
She doesn’t do any of this to get her name in the paper on or on the television. She would rather nobody know what she is doing.
Nearly two years ago, I wrote about the great work she does in a column on ButteSports.com, and I thought I was going to have to join the Witness Protection Program.
I really thought Eddi was going to kill me for pointing out just how great she is.
The last 11 months or so have been hell on Eddi. It started when she took a bite out of a pork chop sandwich at the State track meet in Butte. She had an allergic reaction, and her throat started to close.
She made several trips to the hospital before that condition finally stabilized. Then, because Eddi is the most selfless person I ever even heard of, she asked to come on my podcast so she could tell people about the dangers of sesame flower in buns.
It turns out that most bread and bun makers have turned to sesame for whatever reason, and Eddi didn’t want someone to go through what she went through.
Typical Eddi. Her first thoughts were with other people — including people she never met before.
In January, Eddi suffered another reaction, but this time it was even worse. The reactions just kept coming, too. Over and over, she suffered anaphylaxis reactions. The last one got her sent her on a Life Flight to Salt Lake City, where she still is today.
She was diagnosed with leukemia, and she is awaiting more testing to confirm that diagnosis.
Eddi has helped so many people in so many ways. That is why she was flooded with overwhelming support when word spread of her condition. A modest GoFundMe goal of $30,000 was quickly surpassed.
That money is helping pay for Eddi’s medical expenses, along with the costs of staying in Salt Lake until she is in the clear. One of her daughters is staying there with her.
Hopefully, you can dig a little bit and make a donation on Eddi’s GoFundMe because her expenses are rising every day. (Click here to donate.)
If you cannot donate — or you already gave — then please keep Eddi in your hearts and minds as she battles back to health.
Simply put, there is not a better person on the planet than Eddi Walker, and I just cannot imagine this place without her.
But when she comes back to town and laces up her running shoes again — and she will — don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me for a while. I will be joining the Witness Protection Program because Eddi just might kill me for once again telling people how great she is.
She will be running after me like Jason Voorhees chasing a victim through the woods on a spooky night.
— Bill Foley, who is way more afraid of Eddi than Jason, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 