Trail Running

26.2 x 50: Steve Runs a Marathon in Every State

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Steve has always been a runner. He ran cross country in high school with his buddy Kent Ferris. He ran his first half marathon in the 80s while in college. But his greatest athletic accomplishment, running a full marathon of 26.2 miles in all 50 states, didn’t begin until he was in his 40s. 

Running for Blair High
Run the Alamo in San Antonio

In 2008 he joined his colleague and friend Steve Hogen for his first out of state marathon in Utah. Work and other commitments limited the time for training, so future races were few and far between. The majority of the 50 marathons were completed after he retired in 2016. 

The quest to run in every state led us on an adventure that was shared with our closest friends and family. In Colorado and Alaska, Sam was there to cheer him on.

Anchorage Mayors Marathon
Aspen Valley Marathon

Kent ran two marathons (Iowa and Illinois) beside Steve.

Des Moines Marathon
Starved Rock Marathon

Our friend Sheri joined us in Hawaii. Gary was there for the celebrations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Massachusetts.

Honolulu Marathon
Omaha Marathon

Our RV buddies Gail and Jeff were at the finish line in Hartford.

Hartford Marathon
Cheering Steve on!

The Lawsons joined us in San Diego and San Antonio, where Tina and I did the half while Steve did the full.

Waiting for Steve at San Antonio Marathon
Waiting for Steve at Rock and Roll San Diego

My Dad cheered him on in Prescott for the end of the Whiskey Row Marathon.

Steve’s parents were there in Omaha and Kansas City, and Steve’s mom, cousins and I did the half at the Rock and Roll Arizona while Steve met us all at finish after the full. 

Omaha Marathon
Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon

Finally, our sweet girl Mia crossed the finish in Steve’s arms at the Cheyenne Marathon. Marathoning is indeed a team sport!

Steve finished his 50th 26.2 mile race in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on October 11, 2026. We celebrated with Gary, Mitch, Lauren, Caleb, and Will with a lobster dinner and plenty of toasts to our Superman. 

In Falmouth MA
Crossing the line for #50
Finish line chowder
Lobster celebration
Steve, Mitch & Will
Caleb, Lauren, me, Gary, Steve, Mitch & Will

We’ve polled friends as to what the next challenge should be. Steve doesn’t have any plans to continue racing but he is considering his options . His favorite idea so far is “visit a distillery in every state.”  Time will tell what’s next for our runner. 

Along the way, people have asked a lot of questions about this venture. Here are Steve’s response to the most frequently asked questions:

What was your favorite race? They are all unique but the New York Marathon, with over 50,000 participants and millions of spectators along the route, stands out as one of the most memorable. Fellow high school principal Greg Milbrandt joined Steve for this epic race.

New York Marathon
New York Marathon

What was the hardest race Right in our backyard, the Whiskey Row marathon was one of the most challenging. It has over 3,000 feet of climbing at elevations of 5,200 to over 7,000 feet. Steve has finished this race twice.

What was the most beautiful course? The Fly to Pie Marathon in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, run during peak leaf change season, couldn’t be beat. 

Were they all 26.2 miles? Actually, Steve’s rule was that the race had to be 26.2 miles or more. Three of the races he completed, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, were considered ultra-marathons, over 26.2 miles each. 

Mah Dah Hey Ultra Marathon
Winning his age group at MDH

You’ve really run 50 marathons? Well, he’s really run over 60 marathons. Those extras include multiple Arizona and Nebraska races, three international marathons (Greece, Iceland, and Cuba), and two races where he did not finish. 

Athens, Greece
Havana, Cuba

We have many race-related photos and will post many of them below, mostly so we can remember each experience more clearly. Steve says thanks to all the people who showed up to support him, who checked in when he struggled through injuries, and who cheered him on via Facebook. The accomplishment is even more sweet sharing it with all of you. 

Jackson, MS
Huntsville, AL
Louisville, KY
Indianapolis, IN
Gladstone, MI
Duluth, MN
Green Bay, WI
Seattle, WA
Portland, ME
New Orleans, LA
Prescott, AZ
Missoula, MT
Reykjavik, Iceland
Brookings, SD
Knoxville, TN
Asheville, NC
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Fayetteville, AR
Charleston, SC
Severna Park, MD
Coeur d’Alene, ID
Newport, RI
Keene, NH
Rehoboth Beach, DE
Jersey City, NJ
Cincinnati, OH
Tulsa, OK
Eugene, OR
Philadelphia, PA
Arlington, VA

Seward: Alaska’s 4th of July HQ

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We deliberately planned our Alaska itinerary so we could be in Seward for the fourth of July. Seward is kind of the center of the July 4th universe in Alaska, where the town of about 3,000 residents balloons to about 30,000 for the weekend. The beautiful setting, great weather, and expansive camping opportunities are just the start of the attraction. We’ll break it down.

Seward sits at the foot of Mount Marathon, a 3,000 foot vertical climb on less than a mile and a half trail. The infamous Mount Marathon race is run every fourth of July and draws crazy trail runners from all over.

Race course. Can you see the people?
Start of the women’s race
Women’s field

How crazy? The leading racers run the top of the mountain in about 35 minutes and descend in about 10 minutes. We watched the men’s and women’s race from downtown with binoculars and cheered the runners on as they crossed the finish line. Here’s this year’s winner, Max King, nearing the finish with a final time of 43:37.

In between the men’s and women’s races the town hosts a parade right down the race course and everyone turns out! 

Parade
4th of July spirit

We weren’t crazy enough to hike the runner’s trail but we did take on the Mt Marathon hiker’s trail, which is a little longer and more scenic. Still very steep, the hike afforded us great views of the town and harbor and gave us a sense of what it might be like to take on the race challenge. 

Ready to hike
Along the Jeep Trail
A little rest
Seward harbor
High above Seward
Just a little steep
Waterfalls!

Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without fireworks, and Seward puts on a show. We took our chairs to the harbor and watched the fun boat parade at 11:00 p.m.

Boat parade
Ready to capture the fireworks

The fireworks show followed at 12:01 a.m. on the morning of July 4th. We think the hour had something to do with the fact that it doesn’t get dark until after 11:00 p.m. Here a few shots with the bursts over Mt. Marathon.

When we last posted a blog the guys were out fishing. Well, it was a successful trip as the waters near Seward are very fertile. They came home with bags of fillets that totaled four pounds of rockfish, 12 pounds of halibut, and 29 pounds of cod!

Fishing from Miller’s Landing
Aye, Aye Captain!
Reel it in Sam!

We tried to package it up and freeze it but eventually took it to the professionals when we realized what a job we had before us!

So much fish!

After leaving Seward we spent a few nights in the small Russian village of Ninilchik. The cute Russian Orthodox church that overlooks Cook Inlet kept us mesmerized. It’s a popular stop on the way to Homer.

Then Steve caught another 14 pounds of Halibut on a day trip out of Ninilchik. What are we going to do with all this fish?

One of two big halibut caught by this fisherman
The boat’s catch of the day.

Steve continues to shoot the flowers that abound in Alaska this time of year. Here are a few from our time in and around Seward.

Our next stop is Homer, and oh boy is that gonna be fun!

Fayetteville is My Favorite ‘Ville’

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Fayetteville is very cool! Our primary draw to this area was to attend the US Trail Running Conference and participate in the Spartan Trail US championship races. But there’s so much more. 

We camped at a new campground, Hog Valley RV & Treehouse Resort, just 10 minutes from downtown Fayetteville, which gave us easy access to the University of Arkansas, a great downtown area, and Kessler Mountain Regional Park, which is well known for its hiking and biking trails. Kessler Mountain Park is where we started.

  • Kessler Mountain
  • Awesome trails!
  • Scouting for the 50K
  • Check out these bike trails!

We hadn’t been here an hour before we set out on the trails to explore where our races would be held the following weekend. The fall colors made for a spectacular hike. And check out those bike trails! We are certainly not in Prescott anymore!

  • Fayetteville is full of surprises
  • Cool old buildings on Dickson Street
  • Dickson Street Book Store

We had a few good days during the week in which to explore Fayetteville, and we took in some live music at George’s Majestic Lounge, which seems to be the place in town. In the process we discovered a great new band, The Arcadian Wild. Check them out!

  • Anticipating The Arcadian Wild

Then the rain began. It rained and blew and turned cold for three days. We enjoyed one day in the trailer just listening to the rain, reading, and hanging out.

Rain and more rain…Brr…

By the second day we were ready to explore. Despite the weather we headed up to Bentonville where we visited last year. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is one of the most incredible art museums we’ve ever seen, and a rainy day was the perfect invitation to explore it again.

  • Original Norman Rockwell
  • Coolness
  • Super coolness
  • Art inside and out
  • Restaurant at Crystal Bridges

Luckily, the bad weather cleared for the weekend and our race activities. On Saturday we attended a conference for trail runners, which provided us with some new perspectives about the sport.

  • US Trail Running Conference
  • Nice to be back in a conference again!
  • Advice from a PT on “the foot”

The big event was Sunday morning which greeted us with clear skies and cool but tolerable weather. I ran the 10K and while I wasn’t fast, I wasn’t last. It feels good to be able to take on challenges like this again after two foot surgeries last year. 

Steve took on the challenge of the 50K, which is about 31 miles of running on trails. He’s done one race like this before, the Whiskey Basin Trail Run in Prescott which is 54 miles.

  • Finish line!
  • At the finish with his cheering squad.
  • The whole gang!

Still, the Arkansas hills, with many rocks, roots, and wet leaves proved to be a challenging event. He finished the course in about 7 1/2 hours and only suffered a skinned knee and some sore muscles. Now Arkansas is counted as another state where he’s finished a marathon or more. Only 27 more states to go! Next up is a marathon in Florida in a few weeks!