Grant E. Colehour

Grant Edward Colehour ran the race that God had marked for him. He went to his heavenly home on January 11, 2026, at the age of 79 after a brave fight with cancer. Grant was predeceased by parents, Woody and Mae, and brother, Chuck Colehour. He graduated from Guilford High School in 1965 and Eastern Kentucky University in 1969.

Grant was an outstanding high school cross country runner who developed into one of the areas best distance runners ever in college. A five-time All American in Track and a four-time All American in Cross Country, Grant was a member of the United States final Olympic Trials Team in the 10,000 meters at South Lake Tahoe in 1968, where he placed 6th. He was captain of the EKU track and cross country teams all four seasons. A three-time national college champion in the 6 mile run, 5,000 meter run, and 10,000 meter run, he was the Ohio Valley Conference cross country champion four times (1965-68) and an OVC champion in track in five events. He was a member of the United States World Cross Country Team in 1966 and 1967 and ran in Europe in the summer of 1966 in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. One of the first All Americans in University's history, he held EKU records in the mile, two mile, three mile, and 6 mile runs. He was inducted into the first EKU Hall of Fame in 2006. Thoughts of running were in his every heart beat and never diminished in time as evidenced by his comment while a patient at the OSF hospital " I'm in room 404. That was my best time for the mile."

Grant had many professions throughout his life including: coaching track and cross country at Beloit College; program director at the Belvidere YMCA; physical education teacher and track coach at Christian Life Center School; manager at Tower Gas, and sales at Anderson Toyota.

Grant is survived by his wife, Terrie; and by his son, Bob (Heidi) Colehour; two grandsons, Braxton and Brody Colehour; whose hugs lasted long after they'd let go. His grandsons were his favorite hello and hardest goodbye. The legacy of Grant Colehour's running accomplishments, combined with his sense of humor, passion for sports, friendliness, kindness to animals, and treating others the way he wanted to be treated, will live on through his future generations.

His faith and perseverance continued throughout his entire life. The Bible passage that best encompassed Grant's life journey is Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Mulford Chapel, at 1:00 p.m. Interment will be private at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to a charity of your choice. To send online condolences and share memories, please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com.