Wyoming’s Bighorn Trail Run takes place June 19 and 20
When Will Senn hits the halfway mark of Wyoming’s Bighorn Trail Run this month, he knows he’ll be pushed forward by more than himself. The 34-year-old has been running weekly Sunday marathons this year, building up to 70-mile weeks, to prepare for the race that climbs 20,000 feet over 100 miles, with much of that route a mile or more in elevation.
A financial adviser and vice-president of the Exchange Club of Metropolitan Charleston, Senn pursued the challenge after hearing Ben Towill talk to the club about rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. “I immediately felt called to do something like that,” Senn recalls. “Ben said that for a true opportunity to grow as a person, I had to choose something that scared the heck out of me and sounded crazy to everyone else.” A regular in the gym but an infrequent runner, Sean found the Bighorn run—one of a few ultramarathons that doesn’t require qualifying times in other races to enter.
The Exchange Club’s long-standing relationship with Windwood Family Services made it an obvious benefactor. Throughout the year, club members visit the 110-acre Windwood Farm in Awendaw to spend time with the boys who live there for six months to a year while they work out behavioral issues or find solace from a traumatic home life.
In October 2025, the organization celebrated 40 years of providing life-changing therapy and life skills instruction to youths, who are referred by state agencies. Its facilities include the only nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment facility of its kind in South Carolina and the highest level of group home residential care in the state.
“I get to come out to his beautiful place and see these young boys who look old beyond their years get to be kids again, riding dirt roads on bikes or catching their first fish,” says Luanne Rodgers, Windwood’s chief philanthropy and mission advancement officer. She works directly with the Exchange Club, including its holiday trip to Charleston Fun Park (“The boys can never believe that they get to play as many games as they want,” she says.), as well as its annual fundraiser during the Cooper River Bridge Run. “We would not have made it to our 40th anniversary without volunteer and donor love,” she says.
The first time Senn visited Windwood with the club, he felt the draw. “Windwood has been a big part of my heart for over a decade. The more I got involved, the more I realized both the work Windwood has done and the necessity to ensure that it continues,” he explans. “I’ve always felt that I was more than blessed with a family that loves and supports me. Those that are given a lot should be expected to also give a lot. I’m choosing to do something that’s hard to try to help these boys who have endured hardship that they didn’t choose.”
Senn has two longtime friends joining him in the race—Peyton Talbott, an Army infantry officer and Senn’s classmate at The Citadel, and Jay Bethea, his childhood friend from his hometown of Newberry. The trio aim to motivate each other over mountains, through unpredictable weather, and past potential wildlife encounters—including bears and rattlesnakes—over at least a full day and night of running.
The team dubbed their journey “The Miles That Matter” and set a goal of raising at least $25,000 through their run. “It’s a small drop in the bucket, but it can continue Windwood Farms’ efforts for another child, and I feel passionate about that,” Senn says.
To Support:
Learn more about Windwood Farm at windwoodfarm.org. Support Senn, Talbott, and Bethea in the Bighorn Trail Run, which takes place June 19-20, at www.themilesthatmatter.com.
