Kicked off my last dozen (a baker’s dozen 13) in mid-September, start of my longest weekend stretch marathoning. Beginning September 13th, I’d run 11 consecutive weekends – the last 10, all Eastern time zone…whole lotta travel for a guy with a full-time job.
Overnight train to Omaha, then rental car’d 2 hours to Sioux Falls. Pre-race day spent at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead – read the entire Little House series as a boy, what memories! On the deserted state highway to De Smet, passed a field of corn where ‘Into the Wild’ was filmed. my fave film — double WOW! one week later – Holy Mountain Mama – marathon #38 in Morgantown WV would be my 50 State Hilliest marathon. Rolling hills, pop ups, long steady grinders & steep mountain climbs…but all 26.2, some version of HILL.
Who gets excited ’bout Ohio? That’d be everyone who wants to experience Old World Amish. Race itself was hilly & the weather steady rain but…pre-race night at an Amish auction, unforgettable. Horse & buggy, homespun clothes, pie. Forever memory.
Shared the next four marathons with East Coast family & friends. Raced ’round scenic Newfound Lake in Bristol NH, then shared post-race Italian with Stephen & Sheila. Week following, marathoned downtown Hartford CT. Weekend’d with family in Manchester, (literally) horsed around with CT bestie Dawn, then brunched by the (Long Island) Sound with friends Andrea, Betsey & Stephen.
Museums, 2 sports stadiums, best 50 State aquarium & the Inner Harbor highlighted my 42nd marathon in Baltimore. Post-marathoned in Martinsburg WV, sharing dinner & laughs with my Aunt Joyce, cousins Regina & Kenny & their spouses. LOVE LOVE family!
Kicked off Halloween week spooking on Cape Cod. Creepiest marathon of my 50 – pre-race accommodations in the Lizzie Borden House. Half-slept the night in the actual room where Lizzie axed her step-mom. What was I thinking?!!
Foot raced the New York City Marathon – my only WORLD MAJOR – on November 1st. Ran all 5 city boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx & Manhattan. Finish Line: Central Park. Pre-race? swanky Manhattan hotel, pricey restaurant eats & a Broadway show. Go BIG or go home – no regrets life 🙂 Although not a state, how could I run all 50 yet miss our nation’s Capitol? Ran marathon #45 in Washington DC. Urban-trail trek along the C&O Canal; 4 loops on a flat course, 15 minutes from the White House.
6 days later, travelled to NASCAR-friendly Charlotte, North Carolina. Warm day, lotta hills, medic tent ending – wrapped/iced my Achilles before the flight home. In-n-out in 25 hours – shortest time away of my 50. Ended my 11 week marathon stretch in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. 2 things on my must-do: our nation’s cracked Liberty Bell & Rocky (statue). Crazy silly, yes – but it’s a movie powerhouse & its theme song has rocked my playlist since Alaska.
Finished 2015 in Memphis. Chose St Jude’s 6 months before registration opened – 100% charity run, all funds support childhood cancer. Mile 18 to Finish, paced a guy running his first marathon. Paid it forward, super rewarding. Pre-race: Elvis’ Graceland.
Started 2016 on HAWAII – our island state, far far away in the vast Pacific. Most exotic of my 50; race started at 5am, but finished Hawaii’s ‘coldest’ marathon at a humid 82 degrees (in January). 5 full days from home – snorkeled nearby Molokini, feasted a Hawaiian luau, crater hiked Haleakalā, dined aside the mighty waves of Pāʻia.
Thankful I’ve blogged my 50 State experience. Such an amazing, diverse nation we share. Super proud to be an American!
| # | State | Marathon | City | Date | Time | Bib # |
| 37 | SD | Sioux Falls Marathon | Sioux Falls | 9/13/2015 | 4:35.06 | 1002 |
| 38 | WV | Morgantown Marathon | Morgantown | 9/20/2015 | 4:14.39 | 118 |
| 39 | OH | Adams County Run with the Amish | West Union | 9/26/2015 | 4:26.53 | 1425 |
| 40 | NH | New Hampshire Marathon | Bristol | 10/3/2015 | 4:29.43 | 11 |
| 41 | CT | Hartford Marathon | Hartford | 10/10/2015 | 4:35.41 | 1062 |
| 42 | MD | Baltimore Marathon | Baltimore | 10/17/2015 | 4:37.28 | 1864 |
| 43 | MA | Cape Cod Marathon | Falmouth | 10/25/2015 | 4:40.29 | 281 |
| 44 | NY | New York City Marathon | New York | 11/1/2015 | 4:53.58 | 23145 |
| 45 | DC | C&O Canal Towpath Marathon | Washington | 11/8/2015 | 4:39:55 | 208 |
| 46 | NC | Thunder Road Marathon | Charlotte | 11/14/2015 | 4:27.51 | 418 |
| 47 | PA | Philadelphia Marathon | Philadelphia | 11/22/2015 | 4:32.53 | 4496 |
| 48 | TN | St. Jude Memphis Marathon | Memphis | 12/5/2015 | 4:44.56 | 2074 |
| 51 | HI | Maui Oceanfront Marathon | Lahaina | 1/17/2016 | 4:47:27 | 151 |
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- South Dakota, West Virginia, Ohio & New Hampshire
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- Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York & DC
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- North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee & Hawaii
Completed my third dozen marathons in less than 4 months – 12 weeks on, 4 weeks off. Finish times started to suffer…but the adventures got bigger & shared more than a handful with friends & family.
Finished my 50 State halfway point, marathon #25, in St. Louis – home of the Gateway Arch & my sister Tammy. Sis would run the Half, then join me at mile 21 & run tandem to the Finish. Talk ’bout over-n-beyond! Quite a memory.
6 days later, devoured KC barbeque & marathoned in a downpour – heaviest non-stop deluge of my 50 State journey. True “Dorothy” experience at Olathe’s Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz (Kansas). Following weekend rain again, but not ‘til after mile 8 & a historic run thru Churchill Downs in Louisville KY. Spent an all-Kentucky weekend with my bestie Dawn. Mammoth Caves, [Evan Williams] bourbon tour, ‘behind the barns’ tour at Churchill & tickets to the Kentucky Reining Cup in neighboring bluegrass capital, Lexington. Yep, marathoning was only a small part of the weekend. LOL>
Slept in my 2nd rental car before the Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha. Landed in Chicago O’Hare minutes behind midnite, located a rest area just over the Wisconsin border, dozed ‘til 4am, marathoned at 7 – home again by night fall…but not before visiting the Mars Cheese Castle. LOL> Experienced my first Maniac (complete stranger) room-share, the Motel 6 in Fargo…a step up from sleeping in a rental car 🙂 Starting & finishing in the Fargo Dome, my North Dakota memory.
Week break after running 7 consecutive, then celebrated #30 in New England at the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington. Sprinted the ending (my most competitive Finish pic) – before sailing Lake Champlain. Road-tripped to Casper for marathon #31. Day hiked, museum hopped (lotta dinosaur fossils in Wyoming) & pre-race floated the mighty Platte. Unfortunately had nothing left on run day – faded in 90-degree heat; Casper would be by 50 State PW (personal worst)…finishing, but well over 5 hours.
Mentally zapped, confidence lacking, travelled to the Pacific Northwest 6 days later. Surprisingly, posted a 4:15 finish on a hilly course in Seattle. Trust the process. Space Needle, Chihuly Garden, Pikes Place Market – all amazing but…most memorable? post-marathon seaplane to Washington’s San Juan Island, followed by an orca whale watch cruise with Ash & Tom. Unforgettable.
Travelled to Michigan for marathon #33 in Charlevoix. Recommended airport? Grand Rapids. Lesson learned? Check a map before securing tickets. 4 hour journey to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. No big deal on arrival but mighty early start to catch an 8am return flight (plus rental car return & airport security – yikes). Marathon’d Saturday, 2 hours later ferried to scenic Mackinaw Island. Saw the Grand Hotel via horse carriage – no vehicles allowed on Mackinac, only bicycles & horse taxis.
Marathoned the 4th of July at 8800ft in Angel Fire, New Mexico. 5 hour highway ride south on I-25. Fried in high altitude sun (sweated thru 2 sun block applications). First experience at ziplining – FAAANNNTASTIC!
Journey would have been incomplete without marathoning over the fog-obstructed Golden Gate Bridge. Probably > 50 options to race California – but for me, it was always San Francisco. No regrets.
Fave of my 50, best of the best – Crater Lake Nat’l Park in southern Oregon. Perfect mix of altitude, evergreen & natural wonder. National Park inspired, not only placed in my age group but finished 30th overall. Course included a 5-mile non-stop uphill grind.
Would start my last 13, a baker’s dozen (50 States plus DC), in mid-September. 11 East Coast marathons, Christmas holiday, then a 7-hour nonstop flight to Hawaii in January. Have met so many inspiring folk on this journey. Absolutely anything is possible!
| # | State | Marathon | City | Date | Time | Bib # |
| 25 | MO | Go! St. Louis Marathon | St. Louis | 4/12/2015 | 4:18.22 | 703 |
| 26 | KS | Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz | Olathe | 4/18/2015 | 4:42.48 | 162 |
| 27 | KY | Kentucky Derby Marathon | Louisville | 4/25/2015 | 4:31.13 | 8034 |
| 28 | WI | Wisconsin Marathon | Kenosha | 5/2/2015 | 4:34.06 | 290 |
| 29 | ND | Fargo Marathon | Fargo | 5/9/2015 | 4:33.31 | 586 |
| 30 | VT | Vermont City Marathon | Burlington | 5/24/2015 | 4:35.19 | 3348 |
| 31 | WY | Casper Marathon | Casper | 6/7/2015 | 5:49.20 | 69 |
| 32 | WA | Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle – Marathon | Seattle | 6/13/2015 | 4:15.26 | 8057 |
| 33 | MI | Charlevoix Marathon | Charlevoix | 6/27/2015 | 4:16.57 | 162 |
| 34 | NM | Angel Fire Adventure | Angel Fire | 7/4/2015 | 4:58.35 | 104 |
| 35 | CA | San Francisco Marathon | San Francisco | 7/26/2015 | 5:07.45 | 30741 |
| 36 | OR | Crater Lake Rim Run & Marathon | Crater Lake | 8/8/2015 | 4:25.39 | 85 |
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- Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky & Wisconsin
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- North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming & Washington
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- Michigan, New Mexico, California & Oregon
Back home from St. Louis, visited my doc & soon after, added physical therapy. IT band injury my primary source of pain – pretty common among runners, nothing special…but mighty debilitating.
Increasing miles this year, coupled with lack of consistent training my downfall. Diagnosis: No running for 4-6 weeks. What?! Marathon schedule is FULL thru end of June – every weekend booked, all races registered, most flights ticketed.
Meds dulled the persistent bursts of shooting pain up my left leg, particularly the left knee outer band. Iced my knee each evening after work. Disappointment, depression. Work, home, sleep. FOOD coma. Ate ‘til I gorged, then slept.
Missed Blue Ridge Marathon. No $$ recourse for flights on American. (Technically, I could reschedule but the $200 penalty per leg was more prohibitive than the cost of the ticket itself.)
Swimming.
Never say never, right? I HATE lap swimming – gave it up after Ironman in 2014. Now part of physical therapy, my only means of approved activity. Would start cycling (spin class) on Tuesday – another sport dismissed after Ironman – but no running.
FaceBook smiles & marathon medals – folks would be running Boston on Monday. Will never be that fast. Sub 3:30 to qualify for guys my age.
More food – an entire pan of lasagna. Heavy spring snow so stayed indoors. Netflix binged – hours of nothing special. Walked Ro, back in bed. No shower since Friday morn. 2 tubs of hummus, half loaf of cinnamon toast. HUGE plate of spaghetti. More sleep.
Why am I blogging this?
EVERYONE suffers disappointment. EVERYONE slips into periods of depression. Just ‘cause we don’t post a pic, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Many of us replace the void with FOOD or alcohol or other vices. The trick is coming back – re-finding yourself, re-finding purpose, filling the void, filling the dark time.
Up 12 lbs since October. Haven’t marathon trained since July 2015 – just keep showing up. It’s been a great ride, a wild 50 State journey…but somewhere amidst all the travel last fall/this Spring, got off-center.
I’m better than this – I know better. From sad to mad.
Sunday 4pm – grabbed my first shower. Snow stopped.
Long walk with Ro. He LOVES snow, life, food, LOVES me. Pretty simple really. Tomorrow’s gonna be different. It’s a process – life, that is – right? Not expecting an overnight insta-turnaround. Small steps lead to better life decisions, healthy change.
No marathon again next weekend – but also no new pan of lasagna.
Baby steps 🙂
Next week: Forgiveness
The mountains are calling. Getting quiet & going on a Colorado hike.
