Taking a break from recipes for a second to finally gather my thoughts and pictures from my races in one spot. As many people know, I have had a goal since my early 20’s of running a race in all 50 states. I added an end goal about 10 years ago.. run a race in all 50 states by the time I turn 50!

As I was telling a few friends some stories of some of my races, I had the thought to write a post summarizing my races and experiences, mostly so I don’t forget them.

Below are my first 40 states. I just turned 44 in October so I have less than 6 years to knock out my last ten!

Here we go!
1. Iowa- Bix 7 and Heartland Hustle, July 1987
First race, six years old, going into first grade. Marathon Sportswear (my dad co-owned) started printing the Bix 7 shirts, so it became an annual family tradition to head to Davenport the last Saturday in July and run in the 90 degree heat. Our families have stories for days on Bix!

2. Illinois- Ridge Run, 1990
I obviously have a million races in IL at this point but Ridge Run was my first! Marathon started printing Ridge Run shirts early on and at some point dad started signing us up for the 5K, eventually having Kristy and I’s basketball teams at St. Damian all run it together. I’ll never forget running with Katie Mc D when an older lady who was running past us told us to “lengthen your stride on the downhill, girls” and for whatever reason, our 13 year butts thought this was the funniest thing ever and we laughed hysterically into the finish line. I still think of that moment when I am running down hill in a race.

3. Wisconsin- Lake Delavan Firecracker 5K, 1999, 2nd place
Dad’s friend Mike Wala, started a 5K race Fourth of July weekend up in Delevan, Wisconsin. (Before we had a cottage there, we went there every summer where my cousins had a place). I was going into my senior year of high school and Dad asked us to go. I had no plans so just me and my dad drove up with the top down in the Mustang. I ended up placing second place overall which was super fun. Rare race with just my dad and I. (In hindsight, I know my dad dragged us out of bed one family weekend to run a 5K he found in Elkhorn and I have no proof of it so the Delavan one wins for the the first in Wisconsin lol).

4. Missouri- Gateway Arch 5K, 2005
This is where the 50 state challenge originated. I started selling T-shirts at my Nutrition conference every fall (FNCE for any the RD’s reading this) and the Tuesday of the conference weekend, they would host a 5K. After doing a few races in a couple different states from 2005-2009. I thought it’d be cool to keep going and do a race in any distance in every state. I eventually added the goal of finishing by the time I turned 50.

5. Hawaii, Waikiki 5K (at sunrise!), 2006
I was selling shirts at FNCE in Hawaii so my mom and sister Kristy tagged along. (Didn’t have to drag anyone on this trip!). Kristy and I ran our first 18 miles ever the morning we flew out as we were training for the Chicago Marathon for the first time. Wasn’t great timing to run 18 miles and then sit on a plane for 10 hours but we managed! We ate great food, visited Pearl Harbor, told shirts at the conference and even tried surfing! I ended up with a bad case of vertigo (like unable to walk down a hallway without touching walls to keep upright vertigo). The race started before dawn and the sun rose next to the volcano as we finished. I had to keep bending down to touch the ground to center myself because I was so dizzy running. I wish I had pictures of this race!!! *This was before iphone cameras and taking pics at races became a thing!).

6. Florida- Disney Marathon 2007

Brutal, brutal, brutal lol.
My dad and I signed up for the marathon. Kristy and Kev (then dating), came with and jumped in with me at the halfway point. My mom and Connor (6 years old then) were there as well. I was very well trained for Chicago the October before but training through the winter was tough. I stupidly ran in shorts (it was very hot and humid out) but I had not ran in shorts for months. I ended the race SWEARING on all things HOLY I would NEVER EVER EVER run another marathon. (I’m a liar). I also ended the race with blood running down my legs from bad chafing. Many lessons learned this race!

7. Pennsylvania Rocky 5K, 2007
I sold shirts at FNCE again this year. Aunt Cheryl and I drove the shirts to PA. (Well she did, I accidently drugged myself with Benadryl and couldn’t open my eyes for 8 hours lol). My mom and Connor flew out to help as well. We visited Hershey which was fun and I did the race that Tuesday. It started on the steps where the Rocky movie was filmed and they even had a Rocky impersonator at the start line! Again, wish I had pictures!

8. Kentucky- 1st Annual Chesen “ThanksChristmas 5K”, 2007 (and Flying Pig May 2013 and Ky Ragnar)
I got creative on this one lol. My whole family went to Benton, Ky that year and we combined our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. I decided since I was missing a turkey trot, to create one! My dad printed shirts, I mapped a course, my Grandma Shirley timed the race on my Aunt Diane’s driveway, we had bibs and everything! That was my first 5K in KY but have ran numerous races in KY since then!

9. Colorado, Denver 5K, 10/2009
Once again, I drove out to sell shirts at FNCE in Denver. Dad had the pleasure of driving with me out to CO (so many stories!!), and this time my mom and Kristy flew in to help. We visited the Coors Brewery, Red Rocks and of course sold shirts. Dad and Kris left that Sunday to get back to work so mom stayed with me.  I ran the FNCE 5K race. I never felt worse in a race! Despite being there for 4 days prior, my lips and nail beds were BLUE. I could barely run. Mom and I visited Rocky Mountain National Park and had a terrifying drive on the icy snowy road down the mountain at night. (Don’t recommend this!).

10. Arizona, Rock n Roll Half Marathon 2010
Started dating Ryan (now ex-husband) and his best friend lived in AZ so we flew out so I could run the Rock in Roll half. That was a PR of mine for quite some time. 1:53 something?

11. Louisiana- New Orleans 5K, 10/2010
This race was a blur! I drove down with Ryan to his bowling tourney so of course had to find a 5K! I snuck out when the team went to bowl so I could check off state #11. That is all I can remember about this one lol.

12. Nevada, Rock n Roll Half Marathon, 1/2011
Ryan and I went out to Vegas for an insane long time. (5-6 days) and the race was the last day. I was GUNNING for a PR and most definitely would have hit it, had we not been out in Vegas for 4 nights prior to the race. Lesson learned!!!

13. Tennessee, Country Rock n Roll half, 4/2011
Another brutal race. Kristy, Connor and I drove down to the Country Rock n Roll race. Connor ran in the kids race to complete his progressive half marathon and my cousin Cassie watched Connor while Kris and I raced the half. I ended up pinching a nerve in my neck sleeping in Kentucky on our way down at my aunts house. (Like could barely walk or move or get out of bed). It took all 3 of them to help me out of bed the morning of the race. First race I was ever late to (thank God for multiple race wave starts!). I survived the race, Kristy PRed!

14. Ohio, Flying Pig half marathon 5/2012
Ran with Kristy and some of our fellow runners from SXU Bootcamp and the Ridge Run training program we used to help coach.
Kristy was in her first trimester and announced her pregnancy with Cayden with a shirt that said Piglet on board lol. I ran in a full bacon costume to be funny. Good times!

15. Indiana, Sunburst 10K at Notre Dame (with Addy in carrier) 2013
I pushed back this race the year before because it was going to be 90 that year. Didn’t realize I would be having a baby right before the race the following next year! I switched from the half to the 5K and since I was breastfeeding Addy (who was 2 months old) I decided to bring her and walk the 5K.  I drove out there with the goal of arriving an hour ahead of time so I could feed Addy, change her in plenty of time. Well, forgot about the time change. Checked in and the kid goes, um.. the race is starting in like 5 minutes! What?!? I forgot that half of IN time changes. Raced to the car, changed her diaper and off we went with her in the carrier. She started screaming by mile 2 so I had to stop on the course to breastfeed her outside of some church. LOL. We finished (It ended on the 50 yard line of Notre Dame football field!)  It’s not a race I will ever forget!

16. Texas, Super Hero 5K, 2013
Back to FNCE to sell shirts! We found a super hero race and Aunt Cheryl and my mom trained and ran. This was Cheryl’s first 5K!

17. Atlanta, Georgia- 5K, October 2014

No memory of this race lol. But I did take one pic in hotel before the race and I know it was at FNCE with Cheryl and Mom!

18. Kansas, Garmin Land of Oz 10K, 2014
Cheryl and I drove out for this fun one! Highly recommend. The medals are awesome. We did the 10K… they have Wizard of Oz themed medals and races. I dressed at Dorothy.

19. Michigan/Canada: Detroit Freepress international half marathon- 2015
This one was awesome! Ran with a bunch of people from R2P. Had to check in with passport at packet pickup as we crossed the bridge to Canada and run the tunnel back to the US. The signs were awesome on the Canada side I remember. Nerve racking running past border control! They announced my name as I ran into the US from Canada which was way cool. One of my favorite half marathons. Highly recommend!

20. Arkansas, Little Rock Half Marathon 2016
Ran the Oak Forest Fleadh that Saturday morning, had a post run beer at Blarney then headed straight to the airport to meet everyone that night in Little Rock, AZ! Nice half marathon, I remember a bunch of ladies at the end handing out lipsticks on the course lol.

21. St. John Paul II 5K New Jersey 3/25/17
Planned state #22 first as we were flying out for the Delaware half but wanted to check off another nearby state so we found a race in New Jersey like 30 minutes from Delaware. They were very surprised to see 5 runners from IL come to their parish 5K. lol.

22. CR 1/2 marathon- Delaware (oldest half in country!) 3/26/17
Oldest half in the country! Being in New England was fun. Visited a brewery and did some sight seeing!

23. Ragnar Great River Minnesota 8/19/17

Very fun Ragnar road race with Run to the Pub! As always, had many laughs and stories to tell!
My most favorite leg in any Ragnar was my second leg of this race, Ran down a mountain basically for 3 miles. Think I ran around 8 min miles. I was flying in the darkness in the cool air. Best run ever!
I figured out once we were done with the race that we super close to Laura Ingalls Wilder hometown and museum. (Most) of the team did some exploring with me and I got some souvenirs!

24. Oregon Pub Relay 5/18/18
Two states, one weekend!
This was a relay race to 5 different breweries in Oregon! My first time out in that part of the country. Both Oregon and Washington were amazing. Our team had fun and explored a lot. Waterfalls, Voo doo donuts, Deschuntes brewery and more!
    

25. Run to Remember Washington 8/19/18
Next day we headed across state lines to Washington. SO BEAUTIFUL! This was one of my favorite states scenery wise.

26. Ragnar Trail West Virginia 8/9-10/18
Ragnars are the best! So many stories from this one!

The changing station/porta potty refuge during the rain, our first hike with the Hash Harriers!, best breakfast sandwich from Pat Pulver, “Help Me Baby Jesus”, Nano’s alarm clock waking up the campground at 2 am, the list goes on and on.

27./28. Ville to Ville North Carolina/Ville to Ville South Carolina 4/13
This trip was an epic one and one that I still receive random texts on.

We road tripped down (during an allergy attack of mine and no one killed me). PLAN was going to sightsee and then head to a brewery for packet pick up. It’s a relay from North Carolina to South Carolina. Half of us would drive home and half had to fly home Sunday.
What happened… we took a drive on the Blue Ridge Hwy and going up and down the mountain all day, my brake calipers locked up and smoked. We slowly made our way down the mountain thanks to Cullen and Linda knowing what to do. It was Friday at 3pm and we were supposed to drive the van with 6 people in it for the race starting next morning.
We get down the mountain, are in line forever at a oil change etc place. Finally our turn. They can get a part in but not until Saturday. So I tell them to fix the van, leave it in lot with key in it so I can drive back Sunday to get it to go home. We are are trying to find a rental now big enough to fit 6 adults for this race. We bribe the guys at the station to drive Cullen and I over to the next town (bc.. no ubers) to get a rental. We go back to the oil change place to pick up everyone else and then FINALLY head to packet pickup. Where I drink all the drinks basically,  head back to hotel, where we chose (I may have leaded this) to head to the hotel bar. (Also where I ordered Dominos). Cullen had to start the race at 6 am the next day.
IT was a ROUGH day for me with stories I will not post in this blog but ones I won’t (and our team) won’t ever forget. We finish the race with amazing stories to tell. Amy Cullen and Linda flew home but had to make a overnight stop in Nashville due to a storm I think. Chris, TJ and I pick up my van in NC and drove home (beating the guys that flew). One of my favorite trips and the one that inspired the R2P marathon Relay!

29. United Way 5K, Concord New Hampshire 8/1/19 w Connor
Two states, one weekend!
Traveled with Connor before his senior year to New Hampshire and Maine.
Ran the United Way 5K to check off state #29 for me. Connor won 2nd place in his age group as well!
Ended the night at The Barley House where Connor devoured his Mac n Cheese and Lobster dish.

30. Beach to Beacon 10K 8/3/19. Maine
Raced the Beach to Beacon 10K (bucket list race of mine for forever!! It is Joan Benoit Samuelson’s race). Pretty course. Lots of hills. Ran next to the ocean for a bit and finished at a lighthouse and park overlooking Atlantic. Connor took a dip in water of course post run (I soaked my legs but it was 50-60 degrees).

31. Alabama 11/21/20 5K City of Champions
Snuck with Linda during covid to run this race. We stopped at the worlds most ridiculous road stop attraction in Ky. Words cannot possibly do it justice. (Called… Hillbilly toy museum.. you can thank me later). Headed to Nashville post race and checked out some waterfalls. Ate dinner in a dive bar on Broadway that was mostly empty (score!) then found two rooftops that were basically empty too and did some people watching.

32. Oklahoma 7/31/21 Rt 66 trip w girls
32nd state checked off today in Tulsa Oklahoma at the Fleet Feet Tulsa – Blue Dome Bedlam Run 5k! Didn’t even plan a race on Rt 66 on purpose. Kinda cool! Road tripped with Emily, Kylie and Addy and had a great time seeing all the Rt66 sites from Chicago to Tulsa!

33. Fargo Half Marathon North Dakota 8/25/21
Another epic R2P group trip!

Flew into South Dakota (Watertown) from O’Hare. We had to be bussed to our plane at O’Hare it was so small! We were 3 of the only 5 passengers! Amy, TJ and myself …felt like the Kardashians!
Fargo is such a cute downtown area. We went to so many cute bars, breweries and restaurants, went to see the Woodchipper for the Fargo movie and had such a blast. (and played Shania Twain on repeat at dive bars 🙂
The race was beautiful.. and we also ran into Minnesota which was cool too!

34.Cedar breaks half marathon 8/13/22 UTAH
Half marathon at Brian Head Utah at the 2022 Cedar Breaks at Night Half Marathon. Night race on a mountain. Had to take a ski lift to the top which was crazy. What an experience. My ankles hated me. Thank God for running with friends. So beautiful out here! Even saw a few shooting stars 🌠 🏔
Headed to Zion National Park and then we quit bc it was hot and we were sore, so went to a brewery and found a hotel pool to chill at lol.

35. Mississippi Blues 5K- February 25 2023

Mississippi Blues 5K with Addy (the day after her 10th birthday!), Linda and Amy. (We deferred from a cancelled race during covid).

36. Wyoming Midnight on the Mesa 7/20/24
I was supposed to do this race the year before on my road trip, but it got canceled the night before so Amy, TJ and I came back for it.
Holy altitude Batman! Thought my chest was gonna explode. We ran and hiked this 3.5 ish course at 9pm. Sun was going down as we started the race and it ended in darkness. Tough tough race. But got it done. Celebrated Amy’s milestone birthday at a dive bar in Wyoming.. AWESOME!
Drove to Granite Hot Springs in the Bridger/Teton National Forest and went in the hot spring pools.. around 102 degrees. As we drove back out to continue some adventures, we were losing air in back tire rapidly. In an area with 0 cell service. 🆘 Only made it a few miles before Amy had to turn off. Our rental was a ram. Busted out the manual and we got to work to change tire. (Btw… sooooo many cars passed us. You would think if you saw 3 women lowering their spare tire holding a manual you may stop to help.) As we were about to put jack under truck, 2 guys came off the river who were fishing and finished the job for us. At least I know how to change my spare in my truck now without looking at a manual lol.

37. Nebraska Hustling with my Homeslice 5K 11/16/24
The state that has eluded me on many many trips! Found a hole (a very small hole) in my schedule and EC and I drove 9 hours to Omaha between work events for Emerald Cup. It was a Turkey Trot Trail race in Omaha.

38. Maryland Austin Speaks 5K w EC 7/4/25
Two states, one weekend again. Snuck away for 3 days to Washington area with EC to check off Maryland and Virginia.
EC also ran his first 5k. We stopped at Great Falls Park (another national parks passport stamp for me 🙂
Grabbed some food at Sweetwater Tavern, a MUCH needed nap and then hung out at PJ Skidoos for drinks and fireworks! 🎆

39. Virginia fireworks 5k 7/5/25 Bunnyman Brewing
It was HOT at 9:30am but we both finished The race was part of a brewery series throughout the year, which was super cool. (And benefited Semper Fi). We found a cooler, loaded up on food and 🍺 and headed to Shenandoah National Park. I had a whole itinerary for the day, but then found an Instagram post on some hidden hike. It was not on the itinerary, which meant skipping a lot of the stops but kind of worth checking it out.
And it was AWESOME! And a VERY HARD HIKE but worth it! (Think we ended the day at 25k steps)
We jumped into the base of waterfall (bucket list item ✔️!). It was prob 45 degrees. Knocked your breath out and the current at bottom was crazy. So worth it though. Hiked back. Was able to make a few stops in the park before grabbing a pizza and heading to our Postcard Cabins.
Relaxing by the fire with some drinks. Perfect crazy weekend!

40. New York Tunnel to Towers 9/28/25
Very moving race. Words cannot really describe it to give it justice. Amazing charity formed from tragedy. Kris has been there many times to support the foundation (marathon prints their gear) so we had a good tour guide. We did all the NYC things that I never thought I would see. Amazing trip with Kris, Addy and Brady!

Honorable Mentions:

Dc. Washington. 10/18. 5K with Aunt Cheryl before FNCE
Disney Cruise 5k Bahamas 1/24

States left to do:
Alaska- saving this one for last.. all invited!
California – Redwoods
Connecticut
Idaho
Massachusetts – Salem 🙂
Montana- R2p 10K on Bozeman March 14, 2026
New Mexico, Coffee and Chocolate 5K with Addy 3/29/26
Rhode island
South Dakota
Vermont

If you are still here, thanks for listening to my journey! Looking forward to updating this post as I complete my goal! If you have traveled with me on purpose or you are one of my kids I forced, thanks for coming along! Without my family and friends this journey never would have happened! I am so thankful.

Kelly

PS. In no way, shape, or form was I “trained” to do even most of these. Take the trip! Sign up for the race! You will NEVER REGRET IT!!!