6 Marathons in 6 Months in 6 States

Some have told me I am crazy for doing this, some have told me they don't think I can do it, some have said "Why do you beat your body up like this" - My reply to them has been I may be crazy, I am not beating my body up, and yes I will do this –

In 2004, I was standing in the crowd at the relay station of the Little Rock Marathon waiting on my partner to come through and hand off the timing chip to me – I had 7.2 miles to complete of the relay team – As I was waiting the wheelchair athletes begin to come through – The crowd cheering, clapping and excited for them – I stood there in tears – My brother had been involved in a hay bailing accident in July, 1999 and suffered a life changing injury – His back was broken, after being flown by Med-Flight to Baptist Hospital in Little Rock (26 miles from the accident) he under went surgery to attach a medal rod to his spine – When he was stable enough to move, he was flown in Craig Hospital in Englewood, CO for rehab – He spent 2 ½ months there – They provided excellent care for him – He actually completed the program sooner then anticipated – Part of that is his determination and part due to the wonderful care he received at Craig Hospital -

That day seeing those wheelchair athletes made me take a look at myself – I was truly in no physical shape to do the 7.2 miles ahead of me and these guys were doing 26.2 miles in a wheelchair – As I took off on my 7.2 mile route many thoughts went through my head ….. How do they do that? How can I do this 7.2 miles in the shape I am in? I wish I was in better shape. I know they would love to be walking my 7.2 miles on foot.

The thoughts continued the entire way – And during that time I made a decision – I was going to make a life change for myself – I finished my 7.2 miles, got my medal, went back to the finish line to wait for my daughter to finish her part – And as I sat there sick, throwing up, raw from clothes rubbing me, blisters on my feet, blood running down my stomach from where a tag had cut my skin, I was asked a question “So Ms. Marathon Lady are you doing to do this relay stuff again next year?” – I looked up and replied, “No I am not – Next year I am doing 26.2 miles” –

Those wheelchair athletes gave me a desire, a drive, and the motivation I needed to take control of my health and get myself in better shape – I have now lost 131 pounds, completed one 50 miles event, one 50K event, thirteen full marathons, two half marathons, fifteen 5K events and a 100 mile bike event –

I set myself another goal this past year and that was to complete 6 marathons in 6 states in 6 months, training 1000 miles to get ready, and raise $5,000 for Spinal Cord Injury Rehab – It is just a small way of saying “Thank You” to the wheelchair athletes for what they did for me in the 2004 Little Rock Marathon – I have complete 4 of the 6 marathons – Tennessee in December, Texas in January, Arkansas in March, Kansas in April – I went to Birmingham, AL in February but decided at mile 10 to do a half just to see how a half marathon would feel again – haha – So I had to make up for that state – Which I did by completing one in Kansas – On April 26 I will complete #5 in Oklahoma City and the on May 17 I will complete marathon #6 in Denver, Colorado – That was my plan to make Denver my last one of the 6 in 6 – Several people have ask me “Aren’t you worried about the altitude? You know that will be very hard to run in” – Well my response to that is “No I am not worried because it is all about Attitude over Altitude – My attitude will defeat the Altitude.”

I would like to say “Thank You” to all the people who have helped me and are helping me achieve this goal – And especially “Thank You” to the wheelchair athletes for being such an inspiration to me -

By Kathryn Wishard on  4/17/2009 8:37 AM

2 Marathons in 2 Days: Ogden and Colfax: Runner form NH

I will be running the Ogden Marathon on Saturday, getting on a plane that afternoon to Denver, then running the Colfax marathon the next day.

38, from NH..have never been out to this area, so should be an adventure.

Started running a few years ago with some bad news in my life and running for a charity for a women who passed away 3 months earlier with scleroderma.

Have run 6 states, 2 in 2 weeks, the Goofy Challenge..and now 2 marathons in 2 days.

Later this year in September will be attempting the Tahoe Triple..

By Kerri Haskins on  5/11/2009 8:23 PM