Life Sent Orange County Runner all over the Country, Running Kept Them Grounded

Caleb-Michael Files (left) and the non-binary category top three finishers Jake Fedorowski and Katharine Kaftanski at the 2024 Eugene Marathon.

Moving to a new city is never easy, but for Caleb-Michael Files, who has had to change their Instagram handle three times in the last 18 months — from caleb.runs.dc to caleb.runs.kc to caleb.runs.oc (Washington DC, Kansas City, Orange County) — those moves across the country were made just a little bit easier by a welcoming running community.

Last April, Caleb signed up on a whim to run Eugene 2024 with a hopeful PR in mind. By mile 20 they were on track to smash their PR, and by the time they crossed the finish line, Caleb had broken their PR by 23 minutes and won the non-binary category. 

Here’s just a bit more about Caleb’s inspiring journey and why they are returning to the Eugene Start Line in 2025:

Name: Caleb-Michael Files

Age: 33

Where are you from and where is home now?

I’m from Kansas City and home is now Santa Ana, California.  

What’s your local run club or training group and tell us about it?

I just moved to Santa Ana and I just started running with the group Keep Runnin’ Santa Ana. It’s been great to be embraced in a new running community; the energy is something that you could expect in any run club: people excited about the opportunity to share miles together, share experiences, share training. I’ve been lucky enough to find people here who’ve welcomed me with open arms.

Why Eugene 2025? 

Eugene 2024 was a big PR race for me (like 23 minutes!). Coming into the race last year, I had no expectations of that. I flew across the country the day before; I was staying in an Airbnb with people I’d never met before, but it didn’t seem to matter. At one point with like 3 miles to go, I caught up with the 3:10 pacer and I said to him: I’m gonna need your help. I remember thinking: there’s no way my watch is right, then I saw the pacer and I knew it was right, and I ended up setting a huge PR. Also, the way that Eugene has embraced the non-binary category is a big reason I wanted to come back. I was scheduled to run a 100K the weekend of Eugene, but I gave up my bib for that race because I wanted to come back to Eugene.

Current Total Marathon Count:

16 marathons.  

Favorite road race or racing experience?

I don’t know… I’ve done 16 full marathons and 30 half marathons since August of 2023. Every race for me is so different, I don’t really have a favorite… but I’ll say that the FSN Half Marathon, which is the first Saturday in November in New York was a memorable one for me. It was the day before the NYC Marathon and I woke up that morning and decided to do a half marathon the day before NYC. That was fun! And probably on of the craziest experiences was last fall: I did Chicago and set a PR of 3:08, then I did Kansas City six days later, and Des Moines the day after Kansas City. 

What kind of training plan are you following and do you have a specific goal on race day?

My goal on race day is 3:05. We’ll see… I have a 50K in two weeks, and I’m also doing Boston (just six days before Eugene), but I feel like 3:05 is doable. 

Fill in the blank. What I love so much about running is _____

The community. 

Why the marathon?

It was my first love as a race. I think it’s long enough to get into a groove, but it’s something special. It’s a distance that I now feel very comfortable, but even being on the sidelines of a marathon is special; most people will never run further than a marathon and it’s just such a great opportunity to push your limits.

What started your running journey?

In 2019 I had a VSG (vertical gastric sleeve) surgery. I was at 265 pounds, then I got the surgery, and started cycling six weeks after surgery. I was just doing Peloton - I never cycled outside and I started getting bored with it, so I started running. For the first six months, all my miles were on a treadmill. But then I went to a shakeout run before the Cherry Blossom race in 2023 and then I joined the Track Tuesdays group in DC (through the NE Track Club). When I first joined, I would do the workouts before anyone got there because I wasn’t sure I could do them. But, it’s a journey! This last year has been a wild year, a lot of moving and my grandmother, who I was very close to, died. And the only thing that’s gotten me through is to keep moving, keep running.

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Caleb-Michael has got a busy 10 weeks ahead of Eugene — just check out their Instagram posts to see how many races are on their calendar and be prepared to have your jaw drop! And make sure to wish them luck when see them at the Start Line on the last Sunday in April.