[New] Marathon MAN

Mark Harris traveled throughout the nation to race in every state

BY VALERIE HARDY

To many runners across the country, fall is marathon season. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October. The TCS New York City Marathon in November. However, for Downers Grove’s Mark Harris, until recently, every season was marathon season. That is because he ran 50 marathons in 15 years – each in a different state.

From Chicago in October 2006 to Hilo, Hawaii in December 2021, Harris tells about the training and travels contributing to his becoming part of the 50 States Marathon Club (a club he didn’t know literally existed when he first set out on his mission to become part of it).

I decided to run the Chicago marathon in my late 20’s… Like most people, I was quite active in sports until college age and then sort of lost that part of my life. I like new experiences and challenges!

HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO RUN A MARATHON IN EACH OF THE STATES WITHIN THE U.S.?

About an hour after finishing the Chicago race, a novel idea (or so I thought) came to me: What if I did one of these in each state? Little did I know there were already a few clubs for this sort of thing! See 50statesmarathonclub.com for mine.

HOW MANY MARATHONS HAVE YOU RUN?

I like to be efficient in most things I do. My garage has only the necessary tools and kid items, my closet gets a cleanout each year, and I have only run 50 marathons in total.

WHAT WAS YOUR TRAINING PROCESS LIKE, AND DID IT CHANGE OVER TIME?

There is this famous training program authored by Hal Higdon. It has guidelines on how many times per week, distances over time, etc. I think everyone likely starts there and comes up shorter and shorter as time goes on! I followed this program to about 80 percent of the mileage or so and finished Chicago with a respectable time. I soon learned that my race times didn’t really change much whether I trained vigorously or just enough to run 26.2 miles to completion. By the last 10 or so, my legs were on muscle memory autopilot.

IN WHICH MARATHON DID YOU EARN YOUR PERSONAL BEST TIME?

Des Moines, Iowa. It was a cool and clear autumn day, and I was still relatively young at 29. This was a family trip with my wife, Erin, and daughter, Sawyer, as well as my parents. Those witnesses fueled some added motivation to do my best: 4 hours, 12 minutes.

DID YOU RUN ALONE OR WITH A PARTNER OR TEAM?

This was a personal quest for the most part. There are always interesting people to meet at these races who offer unique perspectives on either running or life philosophies. During this jour-

-HARRIS ON HIS THOUGHTS AFTER FNISHING THE CHICAGO MARATHON IN 2006 ney, I would see the same people at four or five races as they were gunning for the same goal as me in the 50 States Marathon Club.

DID YOU TYPICALLY JUST VISIT EACH STATE FOR THE RACE, OR DID YOU MAKE EXTENDED TRIPS OUT OF YOUR MARATHON TRAVELS?

If the destination could be tied into a family vacation, I would always look to do that. Of course, there were some trips that were 36-hour solo tours for the sake of cost, expediency, and lack of interest in location. Oklahoma City is a fine city, but…

WHAT ARE A FEW OF THE MARATHONS/DESTINATIONS THAT STAND OUT MOST TO YOU?

Falmouth, Massachusetts – This was a family trip that included Boston and a chance meeting at a restaurant in Woods Hole, Massachusetts with fellow residents of my hometown of Manchester, Michigan - a town of only 2,000 people. It was a very “small world” situation.

Valentine, Nebraska – Fellow Downers Grove resident and all-around fun guy Dan Van Anne, who is from outside Omaha, took me up on my offer to come with me to this race. He rode a bike along the race to cheer me and many others on. One of a kind, that guy!

Anchorage, Alaska – The race was interrupted by a black bear on the trail for about 10 minutes. I did not see it and only heard this on the radio afterward. [My family and I] also took a train ride up to Denali National Park – a trip highly recommended by me and everyone who has ever done it.

Hilo, Hawaii – I mean, the race was literally down a volcano.

Death Valley, California – The most peaceful race of them all. Still and quiet all around.

WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR MARATHON EXPERIENCE?

When I was in shape, I enjoyed the meditative state I’d reach while simply taking in the scenery or the smiling kids with their hands out to be slapped. Each finish replenished my desire to keep going to the next one. The travel was a chance to see places in our country I may never otherwise see. I mean, have you ever been to Valentine, Nebraska? There was, also, the built-in excuse to go to Alaska and Hawaii!

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE ALONG THE WAY?

The most challenging aspect was realizing that after I had run about 30 marathons, I now had to actually finish. Otherwise, what a waste of time, right? My motivation dwindled and my physical ability followed. Then, when I had 48 races completed, all planning was halted due to the coronavirus. All said, it delayed completion of the goal about a year or so.

NOW THAT YOU REACHED YOUR 50 STATES MARATHON GOAL, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOU WITH REGARD TO RUNNING?

I’m retired from running! Seriously, I have not run more than a mile since my last race in Hawaii. Most people don’t believe me or think that is strange, but I have no desire to revisit that part of my life. It was the goal I was interested in and not the running itself necessarily. Currently, I am committed to a canoe race across the state of Kansas (from Kansas City to St. Louis) in August of 2023 with two others who have experience with that sort of thing. I’ll report back! ■

Here comes the

Things have been put on hold for too long. Your time has come. Bridal

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