Below is a list of the half-marathons and marathons I have ran. My goal is to one day be a member of the 50 states club. This club is for those who have ran a marathon in each of the 50 states. However, after my most recent marathon, I suffered two ruptured discs in my spine. So my schedule has been severely delayed. Also, I might have to modify my goal to running a half-marathon in each state because of the issues with my back. However, I refuse to give up!
2024 Edit: I’m still out here working my way towards all 50 states. I have currently ran either a half or full marathon in 14 states and will be adding state #15 in the fall. The pandemic definitely put a pause on my progress and now I have a business to run, so racing will have to take a backseat to other priorities for awhile. I’ll get there, just a lot slower than originally planned.
1. The Space Coast Half-Marathon Space Coast Half-Marathon I have ran this course several times. It is a beautiful run along the Indian River in Cocoa, Florida.
2. The Chicago Marathon Chicago Marathon This was my first marathon ever, which is why I chose to run my hometown. It is still my favorite marathon so far.
3. San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon I ran this course for Team in Training to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This is a fantastic organization that does great work.
4. The Melbourne Music Half-Marathon Melbourne Music Half-Marathon This is a tough course that goes over two bridges. If you choose to run the full marathon, you will run both of them twice. I have ran this course twice. It is challenging, but a good time.
5. Dances with Dirt Green Swamp Green Swamp This is my favorite half-marathon course to date, and I have ran it a few times. It is a trail run, very serene. The folks at Dirt have a whole series, and I plan on running them all.
6. The Atlanta Marathon Atlanta Marathon Sooooo, I had no idea Atlanta was so hilly before this race! Therefore I did not train properly. 26.2 miles of hills. Even mile 26 was uphill before running downhill into the finish! Unfortunately, my lack of preparation caused my already weak spine to deteriorate even further, hence the ruptured discs.
7. The Chicago Half-Marathon Chicago Half-Marathon was my first endurance event after recovering from my back injury. After this, I went on the following year to run to half-marathons in one week (one on a Sunday and the other on that Saturday) to best simulate a marathon experience to see if I felt ready. I did, so the list continued.
8. The Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon was state number five and marked my return to the marathon after a five year hiatus since Atlanta. This course was rough, and I wouldn’t want to run it again. There is a lot of running in circles involved (literally) that wasn’t very enjoyable. The initial start down the strip and into the old downtown area was pretty awesome though.
Words from the Long Run 