Seeing the USA 26.2 Miles at a Time

The year-long running streak is done!! I've run 17 marathons or ultra marathons, in 17 different states, in 365 days, completing a 2403.6 mile journey.  It hasn't been easy.  But it has been an incredible adventure, and it's allowed me to travel to many locations in the USA that I might not otherwise have gone.  And I'll be honest, I'm glad it's over.  I love to run, but knowing that the streak is complete is a huge relief.  I'm not done running though, it's just that the pressure to keep the streak going no longer exists.  I will continue to pursue running in new states, with a goal of eventually running a marathon or ultra in all 50 states, some day, some year, well into the future.  And that's OK.  It certainly gives me something to look forward to for many years to come.

How did this begin?  Well over a year ago, I decided to switch gears and do some ultra running, trying to go long, and not always fast.  As part of that, I learned to not only run longer, but also learned that I tended to recover fairly quickly.  As part of the shift to ultra running, I also began to think of going for a state streak at the same time.  You see, I'm a member of the Marathon Maniacs club, achieving 5 stars (out of 10) in 2010.  Ideally, I wanted to advance to the next 6-star level, which would require 16 events in 16 different states within a 365 day period.  I thought this might be something worth trying since this was my only real chance to do it.  And with that, I mapped out a race strategy that would take me to not only new places, in different states, but also would be a significant personal challenge.  And so the quest began.  I knew it would be difficult, but in retrospect, it was a very enjoyable ride.

Over the least year, I've run just about every type of event that exists.  I've run a trail that was ranked 4 out of 5 in difficulty, I've run multi-hour 8 and 24 hour events, I've run a very tiny marathon that only had 35 runners, I've run back to back marathons, I've run in freezing cold and in blistering hot temperatures, I've run up mountains, down them, and have run huge mega events with thousands of runners. I've run with good friends, run by myself, have run at all times of day, and even walked a 50k. And through that, I also had one race that was cancelled 2/3 of the way through and it didn't count.  It's been a year full of rich experiences that I'll never forget.  It's been a year that really makes me who I am.  Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wisconin, South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Some of you may say, what's the point?  If you look through the race list, (see the table below), many of these events were not at race effort.  Simply, for me, because of the schedule, they couldn't be.  This was more about enjoying the journey, and not necessarily the destination (personal records).  And I will say, I have NO regrets!  I had so much fun throughout the year-long streak, experienced so many things, with nothing but smiles as I think back about each event.  It hasn't been easy, but it's definitely been one of the most rewarding things I've done for myself.  And I can also say, I am injury free.

Sequence	Race	State	Date	Distance	Time
17	Grandma's Marathon	MN	6/16/2012	26.2	4:14:29
16	Marathon to Marathon	IA	6/9/2012	26.2	4:46:30
15	Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon	SD	6/3/2012	26.2	4:11:30
14*	Green Bay Marathon	WI	5/20/2012	26.2	4:28:23
13#	Colorado Marathon	CO	5/6/2012	26.2	3:54:25
12	Wilderness Park Trail Marathon	NE	3/17/2012	26.2	4:35:53
11	Little Rock Marathon	AR	3/4/2012	26.2	4:09:32
10	First Light Marathon	AL	1/8/2012	26.2	4:22:46
9	Mississippi Blues Marathon	MS	1/7/2012	26.2	4:15:05
8#	Run for the Ranch Marathon	MO	12/18/2011	26.2	3:49:47
7	Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon	GA	11/12/2011	26.2	4:06:27
6	Marshall University Marathon	WV	11/6/2011	26.2	4:10:14
5^	Pumpkin Holler 50k	OK	10/15/2011	50k	10:17:00
4	Wineglass Marathon	NY	10/2/2011	26.2	4:05:18
3	North Coast 24 Hour Run	OH	9/17/2011	83.41	24:00:00
2	Howl at the Moon 8 Hour Run	IL	8/13/2011	41.98	8:00:00
1	Psyco Psummer 50k Trail Run	KS	7/9/2011	50k	7:33:17

* - Not officially counted since the race was cancelled at 2 hours and 35 minutes but I finished anyhow. 
# - True race attempt.
^ - Walked. 

I did it.  2400 miles.  My year-long marathon streak is done with 17 states. It's just running.  But it's also a collection of memories that are priceless to me, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

And that's the cool thing about running, we can all have different goals.  Some just want to finish.  Some want a personal record.  Some want quantity over quality.  And some want to win.  Whatever your goal, make it yours, own it, and work for it. 

What's next for me?  After after a little bit of rest, I get back on the horse.  I've got more races planned, in new states.  I've got a lot of places to go that I've never been to before, and I look forward to seeing the rest of the USA, 26.2 miles at a time!  I've done 20 states total, so I have a few more to go, ;)  However, I also want to focus on quality for awhile, and see what my true racing potential might be.  As long as I continue to enjoy it, I'll keep moving forward, striving to be better than I was, but never as good as I hope to be!