Thanksgiving Weekend 1995. I had just turned 40 years old. Not a real big deal for me. I had been running marathons for a little over two years and had completed 13. Most of them had been in the Midwest, but I had also run in Boston and Miami. During the summer of 1995 I had decided to run a marathon every month. That plan soon grew into something even more ambitious.

It’s fairly easy to find marathons in the Midwest during the spring and fall, but come winter it becomes a chore. The marathon I had chosen for December 1995 was in Memphis, Tennessee. As I worked on my schedule for 1996 I had to plan for some traveling. In addition to the local marathons, I also ran Disney, Boston, and San Francisco. Somewhere along those travels I heard of some folks who had run a marathon in each of the 50 states (and Washington, D.C.), and before I knew it I was working on accomplishing the same thing.

Six years later I had done it. I finished with the Wichita Marathon on October 21, 2001. That completed my tour of all 50 states. I could have completed the circuit earlier but it really wasn’t my primary goal. I just enjoyed running marathons. I ran Trailbreaker, Lake Geneva, Sugar River Trail, and Chicago every year because I liked them. I could have knocked off a few more states if I had skipped those local favorites, but I was in no hurry.

I even skipped one entire year. Toward the end of 1996 I started having trouble with my right leg, butt, and lower back. I had run at least one marathon for 16 consecutive months and finished most of them in 3:15 or better. After finishing the 1996 White Rock Marathon in Dallas, I took some time off and saw a chiropractor. I started my marathon schedule again in April 1997 but didn’t run any “new” states for the entire year. I finished 1997 by breaking the 3:00 mark for the first time in the Chicago Marathon and then ran the New York City Marathon with my girlfriend (and now wife), Robin Schroeder.

With the Trotters

In 1998 I joined a group from my running club, the Arlington Trotters, for a trip to California to run the Napa Valley Marathon. I broke 3:00 again, so my injuries must have healed. Later in the year, when I found myself making plans to travel to the University of Okoboji Marathon in Iowa, I realized that I was firmly committed to running the 50 states. At about this time Bob Wakeham, a fellow member of the Trotters, was packing his schedule with marathons to finish the 50 states. I think that helped get me going. The rest of 1998 took me to Crater Lake, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; and Louisville, Kentucky. I still ran my favorite local marathons and even stepped up to ultras, with 50Ks in New York and Indiana. I had run marathons in 13 states.

I planned to run a full schedule in 1999, including local marathons, as well as adding some more states to my list. In March 1999, I journeyed to Virginia Beach for the Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon. It was a perfect day for a marathon. The course was flat and fast and I was feeling great. With everything in my favor I ran my personal best of 2:57:30. I added 10 more states in 1999 to get me almost halfway home. Robin and I even had time to fit in a 60K in Central Park in New York.

By now I think Robin had resigned herself to making the best of my obsession. We started using my marathon trips as vacation opportunities. We enjoyed extended stays in New Orleans and Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and after the Silver State Marathon in Reno we visited Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. I even combined my passion for running with an earlier quest I had begun—to visit all of the major league baseball stadiums. I attended games in Pittsburgh and Denver in 1999 and ran the Detroit Marathon, which started and finished in Tiger Stadium. Luckily for my marathon running, the United States hasn’t added any states lately. I haven’t been so lucky with the baseball stadiums. Although I’ve been

to more than 30 different stadiums, the combination of adding new teams and building new stadiums seems to put me further behind each year.

As we moved into the new millennium, I decided to concentrate on completing the states. Even in 2000, though, I saved time for my favorite local races. I would check schedules and reassess my progress after each race. I returned to the Boston Marathon in 2000, and we used our trips to Omaha, Nebraska, and Olympia, Washington, to visit old friends. The most exciting trip of 2000 took Robin and me to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon. Robin joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training and raised money for the charity to pay for her way to the marathon. We spent time in Denali National Park and took a short cruise from Seward, Alaska, to see some whales.

While I was still running most of my marathons between 3:10 and 3:20, I hadn’t run any exceptionally fast times for some time. I was beginning to think that my age (I turned 45 in 2000; at least it’s a new age group) and heavy racing schedule had taken their toll. Surprisingly, though, I had a great finish to the year. I placed second overall in the Oklahoma Marathon in Tulsa and followed that up with my fourth sub-3:00 marathon in Tucson. Completing 10 more states in 2000 left me 17 away from my goal.

At the end of 2000 I figured that I would complete the states in 2002. I then started looking more closely at the marathon schedule. I spent a lot of time at www.marathonguide.com, the Internet site that is an invaluable resource for any marathon runner, as well as other running sites on the Web. Soon I had it arranged so that I could finish my quest in 2001. It would mean that I would have to skip the local races, but I decided to go for it.

A Tough—But Satisfying—Year

It was going to be a tough year. My remaining states were clustered in three areas: the South, the Northern Plains, and New England. Many of the marathons I would be running were small races with tough courses, and I didn’t have many vacation spots on the schedule. Luckily, however, Hawaii remained, and Robin and I made plans to go to Kona in June.

My early races were in the South in cool weather on flat courses. My times were good and I continued to win age-group awards. I really wasn’t looking to make vacations out of those trips, and my travel plans usually had me heading home little more than 24 hours after I had arrived. The plans I made for Mississippi somehow had me flying out of the Jackson airport (20 miles from the marathon) four and one-half hours after the start of the marathon. I figured that if I ran slower than 3:10 I would miss my plane. My 3:07 even allowed me to take a quick sponge bath behind my rental car before I got to the airport, with minutes to spare.

Springtime brought warmer weather and tougher courses. My times suffered but I still placed well overall and in my age group. I ran a unique marathon in April in New Mexico. The Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon on the White Sands Missile Range is not easy to find out about but is definitely worth the trip. It’s a hard trail marathon with thousands of participants. Most of the participants “march” the course in full military uniform, some with 35-pound packs on their backs. The Death March and nine days in Hawaii for the Kona Marathon helped me through a tough year. I even broke down and finally asked Robin to marry me while we were in Kona.

I had three marathons scheduled for September 2001 beginning with Stowe, Vermont, on September 9. Two days later the terrorist attacks left me pretty shook up. I was born and raised just miles from Manhattan in New Jersey. I saw the World Trade Center being built and saw the towers on my many trips to New York. In May, on my way to the Sugarloaf Marathon in Maine, my job had taken me to a meeting at the Windows on the World Restaurant at the top of the South Tower. It was hard to believe that it was all gone.

After the attacks I had to confront a little problem. I was supposed to run a marathon in Billings, Montana, on September 16. A call to the race director

assured me that the race was going to be run. Now I had to figure out how to get there. The airlines were just beginning to resume operations on the Friday before the race. I had a United flight to Denver and then to Billings. I couldn’t count on both flights because of the reduced airline schedules. I checked Amtrak and Greyhound, but neither presented a good alternative. Finally, I decided to drive. I packed up my car and left early on Friday morning. I drove 12 hours to Bismarck, North Dakota, where I stayed for the night. A six-hour drive on Saturday brought me to Billings. On my way to the start on Sunday morning, I ran into a few 50-Staters who had finally been able to fly in through Minneapolis but didn’t arrive until late Saturday night. It turned out that United didn’t resume service to Billings until Tuesday, so my drive was necessary.

FLAGS FLY EVERYWHERE

Flags were flying in Billings and store signs proclaimed support for America. The marathon started with a prayer and a moment of silence, and then we were off. My 18 hours in the car didn’t hurt my running as much as I thought, and I ended up third overall. After returning home I was glad that I had made the trip. If I had canceled I would have had to wait until June 2002 to complete the 50 states.

The marathons in New Hampshire and Rhode Island were uneventful, and then there was just one left. While the marathon in Wichita ended up being routine, it did cause me some concern after the terrorist attacks. The original course called for the marathon to run across an air force base and through an aircraft hangar. The aftermath of the attacks had caused the cancellation of some other marathons, and I was worried that Wichita might meet the same fate. Luckily for me, the race organizers had enough time to route the course around the air force base, and the race was held as scheduled. And I was done.

Running a marathon in each state can be draining—physically, mentally, and financially. The constant travel can be tough. Sitting in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, airport or an Econo Lodge in Jackson, Mississippi, was not so wonderful. Sometimes it seemed that I was just going from the United flight to the Dollar car rental counter, to the interstate, to the Super 8 motel, to Applebee’s for dinner, and finally back to the hotel to watch a game on ESPN before going to sleep. Was I in Alabama or Delaware? Fortunately, that kind of trip was rare, and the marathon itself made up for the monotony. While Robin, too, sometimes lost track of exactly where I was going on some weekends, she was always supportive and helped me get through this whole thing successfully.

Living near Chicago was quite helpful in my quest. I was able to fly directly from O’Hare Airport to almost every race location. I chose to drive to 10 marathons, but flying was the only way that I could accomplish this feat and still keep my job. The Internet was also a big help. Finding and registering for races; making flight, hotel, and rental car reservations; and finding directions to races can all be done online for many marathons. This is not an inexpensive endeavor, however. It cost me over $20,000 for applications, flights, rental cars, hotels, and race pictures, and that doesn’t count the extra spending on some of the “vacation” marathons. Finally, it has helped immensely to have a partner who is also a runner—and it was worth all the effort.

It has been quite a journey. It was fun (usually) and I saw some fantastic parts of our country. Actually, I think it was quite an accomplishment just to visit each state. I’m even prouder of having seen so much of our country now that the terrorist attacks have renewed the level of patriotism in the United States. Visiting Alaska, Hawaii, and some national parks with Robin along was fantastic. Climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty the day before the New York City Marathon may not have helped my running but was definitely worth the trip.

It was incredibly moving to stand with thousands of people in complete silence in the early morning darkness of the New Mexico desert and listen to the roll call of the remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March. Running through the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, or around Crater Lake in Oregon, or along an old railroad bed above Henry’s Fork of the Snake River in Idaho showed me some of the most beautiful parts of the country. Running the marathons was just an attraction that most people don’t take advantage of.

Here’s a brief thought or two on each of my “Marathons Across America”:

Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: A unique event. Mostly a march for military personnel to honor survivors of the World War II death march in the Philippines. More than 3,000 participants, many in full military uniform with 35-pound packs. Tough, hot, hilly trail course.

Bismarck Marathon, Bismarck, North Dakota: A nice little marathon. Should be a fast course, but there were brutal winds and heat the year I ran.

Boston Marathon, Boston, Massachusetts: I’ve done Boston three times, including the 100th in 1996. An extraordinary event. For the weekend the whole city is consumed with the marathon. Despite big crowds I’ve always run a good time.

Capital City Marathon, Olympia, Washington: Hot and hilly. I didn’t have a particularly good run but surprisingly won an age-group award. I went to the new Seattle ballpark, Safeco Field, to add to my stadium list.

Carrolton Marathon, Carrolton, Michigan: Eight trips on a 5K course and it’s an out-and-back. I also ran the Detroit Marathon in 1999. That was the year that Tiger Stadium closed, so the race started and finished in the stadium. Pretty neat.

Chicago Marathon, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago was my first marathon in 1993. It snowed. In 1997 I ran my first sub-3:00 marathon here. I ran it from 1993 through 2000. A very fast course and I always run good times. I also ran the Lake County Marathon several times, before it was discontinued, and the Lakefront 50K in Chicago.

Columbus Marathon, Columbus, Ohio: A pretty standard marathon.

Crater Lake Rim Marathon, Crater Lake, Oregon: The most spectacular location of any race that I’ve done. The course circles the lake, which is about 1,100 feet below in the crater of an old volcano. A tough climb at the midway point and then the toughest four miles (on trails) that I’ve run to finish.

Dallas White Rock Marathon, Dallas, Texas: A nice big-city marathon with a good portion of the course around a lake. Impressive pasta dinner with lots of famous speakers. Also my chance to see JFK assassination sites.

Deseret News Marathon, Salt Lake City, Utah: Always run on Founders Day regardless of the day of the week. I waited until it was held on a weekend. A cold start in the mountains. Very uphill for the first half then extremely downhill to the finish. It’s too dark to see most of the nice scenery. Finish on parade route for Founders Day was a nuisance since most of the spectators didn’t really care about the runners.

Disney World Marathon, Orlando, Florida: Another highly touted marathon that I found disappointing. Big show before the early morning start is visible only from the front of the pack. Then we ran around the roads in Disney World. Some parts of the course go near attractions but not many.

Grandfather Mountain Marathon, Boone, North Carolina: One of the toughest that I’ve run. Beautiful scenery through the Blue Ridge Mountains but mostly uphill. Finish is in front of thousands at the Highland Games.

Grandma’s Marathon, Duluth, Minnesota: Another heavily hyped marathon that I found somewhat disappointing. Very well organized and an easy course. It has attained cult status, but I couldn’t understand what all the excitement was about.

Hartford Marathon, Hartford, Connecticut: A hot, miserable day for me. A bland course that passed the finish line at about 20 miles. I had cramps at about 23 miles and limped in.

Hogeye Marathon, Fayetteville, Arkansas: A hot and hilly day in Arkansas. There are relays for 13- or 26-person teams, so, while there seemed to be thousands of runners on the course, fewer than 100 ran the full marathon.

Kentucky Marathon, Louisville, Kentucky: The organizers of the Kentucky 50-Mile Race added a marathon but had second thoughts. The year I ran was the last time the races were combined and the marathon was limited to 50 runners. Unseasonably warm weather. The course was more than a half mile too long.

Kona Marathon, Kona, Hawaii: Marathon takes place on the course for the Ironman Triathlon. I also ran a small 10-mile race in Kona. Another great vacation with a marathon as a bonus.

Lake Geneva Marathon, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: One of my favorites. My 1996 race might have been my best marathon ever. Wisconsin is a great state for marathons. I’ve done 19 marathons there—Milwaukee’s Lakefront, Trailbreaker, Sugar River Trail, Paavo Nurmi, in addition to Lake Geneva.

Longest Day Marathon, Brookings, South Dakota: Some marathon had to be the worst; for me this was it. Host hotel had changed names, so I drove around for some time looking for it. Miserable weather—cold, high winds, pouring rain. Dirt road section became ankle-deep mud. No medals for finishers (although they were mailed later). Hotel double-billed my credit card. Won age-group award, which was a gift certificate, but the store never sent me anything. Return flight was delayed over three hours.

Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans, Louisiana: Hard not to eat or drink too much in New Orleans before running a marathon. Great course that gives a tour of all parts of the city. Robin crashed into one of the lead runners on an out-and-back stretch when both refused to yield.

Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, D.C.: Despite all of the praise for this race, I found it disappointing. Small, cramped expo. Difficult transportation to the start. Hot weather. Run around the Pentagon parking lot a few times. You do get to run near some of the D.C. monuments but not enough to make up for the other stuff.

Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon, Anchorage, Alaska: A great vacation with a marathon thrown in. Robin had her trip paid for by raising money for Leukemia Society Team in Training. The marathon itself was pretty good. A long section on the Oilwell Tank Trail made it interesting. The real treat was visiting other parts of Alaska.

Memphis Marathon, Memphis, Tennessee: A weird road trip. About a dozen guys but no girls from my running club ended up going to Memphis. The city and the race were pretty bland despite the Peabody ducks.

Mesa Falls Marathon, Ashton, Idaho: The Mesa Falls Marathon was one of the most beautiful that I have run. A four-mile stretch on a sunny summer day, along an old railroad bed more than 100 feet above a winding river, surrounded by pine trees was unmatched in any race I’ve run.

Mid-Atlantic Cross-Country Challenge, Newark, Delaware: A double-loop trail marathon with a creek crossing through hilly woods outside of Newark. Nearly everyone got lost somewhere on the course. Tough. Despite the confusion and difficult course I enjoyed it.

Mississippi Marathon, Clinton, Mississippi: Somehow I had scheduled my flight out of Jackson, Mississippi, to leave four hours and 30 minutes after the start of the marathon 20 miles away. I made it.

Montana Marathon, Billings, Montana: The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington almost prevented me from getting to Billings. Other marathons on this weekend were canceled, but this one went on. I drove 18 hours to get to Montana since my flights were canceled. The marathon itself was rather routine but other things made the weekend memorable.

Myrtle Beach Marathon, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Good-sized marathon in golf territory. Start at minor league baseball stadium. Just missed some very bad weather, but it was quite windy. Flat course that should be very fast.

Napa Valley Marathon, Napa, California: Another great vacation and big road trip for my running club. A pretty easy sub-3:00 marathon. Mud baths and wine tastings for the next week. I also ran a San Francisco marathon that started on the Golden Gate Bridge.

New Hampshire Marathon, Bristol, New Hampshire: A pretty New England setting for a relatively tough marathon.

New Jersey Shore Marathon, Long Branch, New Jersey: Run in the state where I was born. I have to go back and do this one on a nice day. It was cold, windy, and rainy when I ran. It should be a nice course around Sandy Hook State Park and then along the ocean. Despite the weather I ran one of my better times.

New York City Marathon, New York, New York: One of those marathons that everyone should run. I’ve done it three times. The race itself is fun and is a great way to see New York. The lousy part is the long wait before the start. I’ve never had really good weather, so it has been very uncomfortable. I’ve also run a 50K and 60K in Central Park.

Ocean State Marathon, Providence, Rhode Island: A mini-Boston Marathon. The year I ran it, it was held on a Monday. A fast course with a major hill at about 21 miles. Only 1,000 runners instead of the larger crowd in Boston.

Oklahoma Marathon, Tulsa, Oklahoma: Limited to 100 runners and by invitation only. Double out-and-back along the river. Nice pasta dinner the night before. My highest finish at second place.

Omaha Marathon, Omaha, Nebraska: Running in Nebraska in July just can’t be a good idea. Half the race takes place across the river in Iowa. Perhaps the dullest course I’ve run. Even the section through the zoo was disappointing since there were few animals visible.

Pittsburgh Marathon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A warm day in hilly Pittsburgh. A good trip around the city, but the weather made it pretty tough. Went to see a Pirates game in Three Rivers Stadium before it was torn down.

Ridge Runner Marathon, Cairo, West Virginia: Takes place way back in the West Virginia hills. Actually a nice little marathon on a very challenging course. Just barely beat a 54-year-old guy who was smoking a cigarette before the race started.

Rocket City Marathon, Huntsville, Alabama: You see a bunch of rockets outside buildings while driving from the airport. A unique feature of the race is that runners’ names are printed on their bibs.

Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon, Virginia Beach, Virginia: Flat, fast course in resort area. Very well organized and has all of the big marathon events—expo, pasta dinner, postrace party. Perfect day for running and the only time I “knew” I was going to run under three hours before the race started. I made it even with some walking from a cramp at about 20 miles. My personal record at 2:57:30.

Silver State Marathon, Reno, Nevada: A very pleasant surprise. Beautiful, mostly trail course surrounded by mountains. Pretty tough but fun. Close to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, where we later visited.

Steamboat Marathon, Steamboat Springs, Colorado: An early June snowfall to get us started and then a major downhill for the first 10K. Great location for a marathon and vacation. I also visited Coors Field in Denver to help me on my other quest—to visit all of the major league baseball stadiums.

Stowe Marathon, Stowe, Vermont: Extremely tough course with three big hills and a few miles of some tough trail running. There was also one of the steepest downhills that I’ve run. Record heat near 90 degrees during the last seven miles, which are run on paved roads with no shade. Good, challenging race.

Sugarloaf/USA Marathon, Kingfield, Maine: A beautiful location and nice course in the middle of Maine. We had to wait for a moose to pass our bus on the ride to the start. Well organized and a fairly fast course. I wish I had made more of a vacation out of the trip.

Sunburst Marathon, South Bend, Indiana: Sunburst finishes in the Notre Dame football stadium. A special treat for me. It also takes place on the weekend of my reunion at Notre Dame, so my class picture in 1997 shows me still in my running clothes. I’m planning my 100th marathon here at the time of my 25th reunion in 2002. I’ve also run a trail 50K in Huntington.

Third Olympiad Marathon, Chesterfield, Missouri: A great road trip for my running club in 1996. I returned in 2000 because I didn’t have a winter marathon scheduled and was getting antsy. The most unfair hill on a course at the 25-mile mark.

Tybee Marathon, Tybee Island, Georgia: A marathon on a four-square-mile island. We ran on just about every foot of road on the island. A nice little wintertime marathon.

University of Okoboji Marathon, Lake Okoboji, Iowa: “No fish cleaning in this unit” read the sign in the little cabin I stayed in for the University of Okoboji Marathon. Enough said.

Washington’s Birthday Marathon, Greenbelt, Maryland: Three loops on a windy February day. Maryland’s done.

Wichita Marathon, Wichita, Kansas: My 50th state. It turned out to be a little warm for October. A flat, fast course that previously had run through an air force base. The September 11 terrorist attacks caused the course to be changed, but at least the marathon was still held.

Wyoming Marathon, Cheyenne, Wyoming: A tough off-road mountain marathon. Starts at about 8,600 feet and drops to about 7,200 feet, but the course is an out-and-back, so it’s a big climb to the finish.

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