By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – A year after completing a Transcontinental Run from San Diego, Calif. to Wilmington, N.C., a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is looking forward to telling his story through an upcoming documentary. “Good Medicine”, set to be released in August, follows Kallup McCoy II, an EBCI tribal member from Tsisqwohi (Birdtown), on his two-month run to raise money for RezHOPE Recovery & Consulting Services’ Gadugi House and to raise awareness for recovery from drug addiction and mental health challenges.
On the documentary being produced by RVRS, he noted, “We’re going to bring a lot of characters and the human element into it, and the running is going to kind of be the backdrop.”
Kallup McCoy II puts on his shoes in preparation for a 50+ mile run on Day 56 of his Transcontinental Run (San Diego, Calif. to Wilmington, N.C.) on May 16, 2025. He is shown at the Cherokee Post Office in Cherokee, N.C. where his day’s run began. McCoy had already gone through five pairs of running shoes at this point. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
McCoy added, “One of the things that I noticed a lot of these running documentaries, it’s a lot about the miles…and we’re trying to bring in a lot of different characters because there are so many people that helped make this possible…we want to get their perspective, what they’re feeling, what they’re seeing, what it meant to be a part of it. Then also tie it back to the Gadugi House because that was the whole reason I was running.”
He hopes to send a message to viewers of hope and resilience. “I see a lot of athletes that graduate and they never play or compete or do anything again. I’m about to be 40 and I’m still getting opportunities and now starting to get financially supported in something I’m so passionate about with running and I want people to see – from our community, especially – that just because you graduate college or high school, doesn’t mean your story is over and your competitive career is over. There are so many ways that you can get your name out there, tell your story, have opportunities you can create for yourself. So, I want people to look at me and be like, ‘well if Kallup can do that then I want to chase down this dream as well’.”
McCoy recently signed a contract with Kane Footwear – an active recovery shoe geared for athletes. “It’s getting pretty well-known and mainstream. The New England Patriots are wearing them now. I recently signed with them a little over two months ago. I get product plus they pay me financially now. It’s a big opportunity. I’ve been at this about nine years now, and I’m finally starting to see some payoff with sponsorships and getting that type of support.”
He further stated, “Whenever they see the whole sponsorship stuff, the whole documentary stuff, I want people to be inspired by that. And, I want people to chase down their own dreams and tell their own story.”
The documentary will go on a film festival tour once released, and McCoy is excited to get to speak to some of the audiences at the screenings. “We hear it all the time ‘representation matters’ and I’m the only Indigenous athlete that’s part of the whole Kane team. I make sure that I talk about where I come from. I make sure to talk about how resilient we are as a people. And also, other Indigenous athletes and people, when they see my story, I really want them to be inspired to make sure they step up and represent who we are.”
Education will be a main component of the documentary and the screenings, and McCoy said he’s excited that Gil Jackson, an EBCI tribal elder and Cherokee first language speaker, is involved in the project. “He’s going to be doing a voice-over and he’s talking about what water means to us. It shows me going to water at the beginning of the journey. So, there’s a lot of pieces of who we are as Cherokee being tied into the documentary. And I’ll be able to talk about that a little bit more when I go to these different screenings and get in front of crowds.
It’s opportunities like that where I’m excited about sharing who we are and my culture.”
This fall, McCoy is taking on a new challenge. “I realized that we all have a certain amount of time before Father Time catches up to us and mine is getting closer and closer as far as being really competitive. So, I’ve got a 200-mile race in October. It’s called the Mammoth 200 and it’s my first ever 200-mile race. It’s 32,000 feet of gain and descent within the race. If I can get a top-10 finish, I think that would make a good case for me to get an even bigger sponsorship with another shoe company…and, I could continue to chase down this dream of being a professional ultra-runner at that point.”
He said his support system is great and thanks his wife, Katelynn Ledford-McCoy, an EBCI tribal member who is an accomplished distance racer in her own right. “I would not be where I am without her support. She is just as impressive in the things that she does and how passionate she is – running the non-profit, and she’s getting ready to try to Boston (Marathon)-qualify, which is insane for her because she had that bad car wreck in 2016 and broke her back and her hip. And now here she is getting ready to Boston-qualify. So, just seeing how she continues to show up for the guys at the house, for our family, for me, and then also still pushing herself. She still creates time to do that. The whole run across America would not have been possible without her or my mom. They were hustling and fundraising and just trying to make it happen.”
He also thanks the community for its support. “None of this story would be possible, none of this would be possible – this documentary. People showed up to bingos. People showed up to get dinners. It’s really important, and I just want people to know, in the community, that I appreciate that.”
Once the documentary is released, the One Feather will report more regarding screening schedules.
