I love to run marathons, and I love to travel. I have many formal degrees, but my far-flung wanderings have provided a much richer education.
Thus, the idea of running 50 marathons, in all 50 states, in 50 consecutive days seemed to me the ultimate combination of running, travel, and personal enrichment.
Now all I had to do was survive...
What surprised me most is how incredibly diverse the 50 states are, not just the physical environment but culturally. And I found this engergizing and exciting. Yes, the running was difficult, but the sense of inward and outward exploration infused me with a supernatural power.
Perhaps this phenomenon is best illustrated in my final Marathon, the NYC Marathon, which I ran in 3 hours flat, the fastest of any of the previous 49 marathons. My body and mind didn't decay over the 50 days of travel, they grew stronger.
There is a book and a movie about the 50 state odyssey if you are interested in learning how things unfolded. I hope you get inspired to launch your own personal expedition!
