- January 15, 2026
Michelle Bartlome has been an avid runner for most of her life. Last March, she challenged herself to run every street in Ormond Beach. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Bartlome is the president of the Rotary Club of Flagler County. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Bartlome runs on the sidewalk on A1A in Ormond Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Bartlome runs in a beachside neighborhood in Ormond Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Bartlome runs in a beachside neighborhood in Ormond Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Bartlome runs in a beachside neighborhood in Ormond Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Running has been a part of Ormond Beach resident Michele Bartlome's life for a long time. It's her "happy place." Her preferred way to find clarity and work through ideas.
And as a goal-oriented person, she's always looking for a new challenge.
So when she heard a guest speaker from Jacksonville talk about the Run Every Street challenge during a Rotary Club of Flagler County event last year, Bartlome's ears perked up. Soon thereafter, during a breakout session, she raised her hand and announced she would follow in the guest speaker's footsteps. She would run every street in her city.
Bartlome had no idea how many miles that would be, nor how many streets that encompassed. But, she was going to do it.
"I'm always challenging myself to just continue to improve and challenges like that just push me for what else I can do," said Bartlome, who is the president of the Flagler Rotary Club.
Using CityStrides, which helps track challenge progress, Bartlome discovered she had 864 streets and 264 miles to run.
She began in March 2025. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Bartlome completed the challenge, racking up a total of 410 miles. (When running some roads, like cul-de-sacs, Bartlome often had to double back to continue her runs, resulting in the higher mileage.)
This challenge, Bartlome said, pushed her both physically and mentally. Still, she truly enjoyed it.
"I just feel really connected to the place that I call home," she said. "Every street, there's a story, and every time I went out running, I was learning more about the people and the places that really make up our community, and it was really special for me to uncover a lot of these areas that I wouldn't have noticed if I was not running the streets, or walking on the streets, because the journey would have never taken me on that path."
As Bartlome ran in the city, she encountered numerous historic markers.
She learned about the history of Old Kings Road, the historic firehouse on Granada Boulevard, the Nathan Cobb Cottage and the first house ever built in Ormond Beach — Bosarve, the home of town founder John Andrew Bostrom, constructed in 1968.
Every time she saw a marker, she would stop to take photos and take a minute to learn about her city. Running through Riverside Drive, one of the city's most historic streets, was a highlight for her.
"Then of course, there's The Casements, which in itself is just a beautiful thing to have in our community — the winter house of Rockefeller," Bartlome said.
The challenge also gave her an opportunity to discover new neighborhoods and running trails, like the Benny M. Woodham Jr. Trail off N. Beach Street and Inglesa Avenue.
"When I found that one, I was really impressed, because it's not super long, but you feel like you're in the middle of all this beautiful nature," Bartlome said.
Bartlome has lived in Florida for three years. Born and raised in New Jersey, she lived in Idaho for 15 years before moving down south.
Her love for the Flagler and Volusia area, however, spans decades and was sparked by family. Her late grandparents moved to Palm Coast over 30 years ago, and other family members relocated to the area over the years. Her parents now live a mile from her in Ormond Beach.
For Bartlome, running has become a family affair. Together with her husband and children, they take part in local 5Ks, including Feet to Feast and the recent AdventHealth Moonlight Beach Run. Bartlome has also completed two full marathons.
Her son is on the Ormond Beach Middle School cross country team. For Christmas, she got him his first medal holder.
"It makes it a family thing, and I get to see them excel in it," Bartlome said. "... It's just been a wonderful thing for me personally, and I love being able to help others to maybe get a little bit of extra enthusiasm or motivation to get out there and try it as well."
And Bartlome did inspire someone to do the Run Every Street Challenge.
Her sister, who lives in a small town in Maryland.
"She completed it before I did," Bartlome said with a laugh. "That was just really cool, because she had really just embraced this idea of, 'Hey, let's see if I can do it.'"
It took Bartlome 10 months to complete the challenge.
Her typical runs were about 3-4 miles, with longer runs — like the ones through Ormond Lakes and its winding streets and numerous cul-de-sacs — spanning almost 11 miles. Bartlome began the challenge in the middle of the city and worked her way west before wrapping up on the beachside.
That was her game plan from the start. On her final day of the challenge, she ended it on the beach, where she wrote "100%" on the sand.
"We live in paradise and I love the aspect of being able to finish and start runs at the beach as much as I'm able to because it's just such a privilege to live in a community like this," Bartlome said.
There was never a doubt in her mind that she would finish the challenge. It didn't matter if she was running in the rain, in hot weather or in windy temperatures. This was a fun journey, she said, and she loves being able to share her experience. Many of her friends followed her journey on social media, cheering her on as she achieved milestones.
"I love running, and I love that I was able to explore new parts of our city," Bartlome said. "To everybody that waved at me or honked at me, or said hello while I was out there running, thank you, because you definitely provided some additional motivation to just keep going and get out there."
Her advice to those who are interested in doing the Run Every Street challenge?
"Just start," she said. "So what if you only do five streets in your city? That's okay. Maybe those were five streets that you'd never seen before, and you now have some additional insight into the place where you live, which I think is really important — just to have a good understanding of what your community is like."
