I crossed the finish line of the Kansas City Marathon in October of 2011 in 3:58:45, barely squeaking below the four hour mark. That race, my third marathon, destroyed my legs. I spent most of the miles questioning why I was running what seemed to be endless hills. It also sparked a thought — “can I run sub 4 again?” Twelve years and two months later, I finished 50 sub 4 at the Rehoboth Beach Marathon in Delaware.
50 sub 4. A marathon in all 50 states faster than four hours, an accomplishment I would not have considered possible back in 2010 when I started running. Or even after that first state sub four in Missouri in 2011, or through 2012, as I failed to get below four hours repeatedly.
Rehoboth Beach was a great race to finish my 50 sub 4 journey. The course is flat with ocean views, and the weather was cool enough without too much rain. I also made friends along the course, including a runner wearing a 50 sub 4 hat (he has actually run marathons in all 50 states five times over).
Finishing in Delaware, my 50th state in the official first state, brought a wave of emotions and memories. So much has changed since I started chasing this goal. My wife and I have moved four times, back and forth across the country. I’m now a father to a 4-year-old.
I’ve thought and written a lot about goal setting and chasing. Crossing off a major one is a strange feeling. Filling in the final state on my marathon map was weird. There aren’t any blank spaces left to tackle.
My wife and daughter made the trip to Delaware with me, and seeing them holding signs along the course made state No. 50 more special for me.
As I ran past sand dunes in Rehoboth Beach, I thought about my favorite states. The seven marathons I’ve run in California, including beautiful Big Sur and competitive CIM. A surprisingly fun race in Fargo, North Dakota. The first time I ran sub three hours in Charleston, South Carolina. A classic summer race at Duluth, Minnesota’s Grandma’s Marathon. Detroit Free Press Marathon in Michigan and Bay of Fundy in Lubec, Maine, that both run into Canada and back. Six times chasing unicorns in Boston, Massachusetts.
Goals are an important part of life. They motivate us to keep moving forward, but they can also feel like a burden when we give them too much importance. It’s a delicate balance, and I’ve failed to hit a number of running goals in the past decade plus. But finishing 50 sub 4 has reminded me that all I can do is keep striving to improve. Progress is rarely linear, but consistency in the small things daily leads to forward momentum.
In the final miles running back into Rehoboth Beach I couldn’t help but think about dying. Was it a feeling of finality or a looming midlife crisis? Or was it simply sparked by remembering the stages when I was a completely different person, yet I was still chasing the same 50 sub 4 goal? Who knows.
What I do know is that time passes, and the seconds continue ticking. We pour our effort and energy into the things we care about, and we find things to chase after.
Finishing 50 sub 4 felt joyous and melancholy at the same time. I had the rush of excitement and deep sense of accomplishment that follows any big achievement. There was also a slight sadness in realizing the goal I’ve chased is behind me now.
I am fortunate to have many friends and family members who have encouraged me in the past 12 years. Even as I did ridiculous things like driving from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to race Space Coast Marathon only to drive straight back after the race and work the next day.
And most of those friends and family members have asked me the same question in the past week — “what’s next?”
I plan on repeating several of my slower states, but I don’t want to commit to anything outlandish. No big ultra goals, and no trying to run a marathon on every continent. And definitely no attempt to do another (or four more) full 50 sub 4 rounds like my new running friend.
Hopefully I can keep forward momentum while appreciating the seconds as they roll past.