Running to Raise Money for Opioid Recovery, Salisbury's Chip Piper Completes 10 Marathons in 10 Days

Chip Piper and his granddaughter Credit: Courtesy

Salisbury’s Chip Piper completed 10 marathons in 10 consecutive days on Saturday — and raised more than $13,000 for local nonprofits that help people recovering from substance use.

Piper, 55, was the subject of a May 8 cover story in Seven Days. The profile detailed how grief over the loss of his stepson, Michael, to a fentanyl overdose in 2020 has driven Piper to compete in ultramarathons. The races are an extreme example of the ways in which family members are channeling the pain of losing someone to addiction and turning it into action to help others. The money Piper raised will be split between Jenna’s Promise in Johnson and Turning Point Center of Addison County.

Piper finished the Infinitus deca-marathon in Ripton in 114 hours and 16 minutes, an average of about 11 hours and 26 minutes per marathon.

Along the way, he battled blisters, knee pain and sweltering heat. Positive self-talk kept him moving.

“If I started to say, ‘Well, if I got eight [marathons] in, that’s gonna be plenty,’ I said, ‘No, stop, you need to project success,’” he said. “’Think about what it’s going to be like on day 10 when you come in and everybody’s excited.’ I couldn’t let people down.”

Piper had shed nearly 10 pounds by the time he reached the finish line on his final day. He celebrated with friends and family over burgers and hot dogs.

While he fell short of his $25,000 fundraising goal, Piper expressed satisfaction with what he received in community support.

And he’s not done yet: Next year, he plans to once again attempt the Infinitus 88K, an approximately 55-mile race that he dropped out of due to knee pain in 2022.

His mission to help people such as Michael access better treatment, he said, means more than crossing the finish line at any one race. Still, finishing his 10th marathon over the weekend gave him a profound sense of accomplishment.

“I was exhausted; I was worn down,” Piper said. “I can’t believe I did it.”