(Photo: John Maultsby)
What makes John Maultsby's accomplishment all the more amazing is that he only started running marathons at the age of 60!
He's been running since 1972, but always shorter distances. Maultsby long wanted to run a marathon, but only qualified after turning 60. During that run, he saw a man wearing a t-shirt marked "50 States Finisher." This is a unique title coveted by American marathon runners: to run a marathon in every state of the union.
Maultsby decided that that's what he would do. It's been hard. He had a run-in with a moose in Alaska and almost froze to death during his Florida run. But he's persevered, running 7 marathons this year alone. Last week, Maultsby finally accomplished his dream when he crossed the finish line at a marathon in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Today show reports:
Maultsby regularly ran six or 10 miles a day multiple times a week and would run 22 miles every other Wednesday to keep himself in shape.
He also still works at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas.
Scheduling marathons often became a nightmare because he had to put in for his vacation at MGM a year in advance, before the dates of many of the marathons were officially set.
The other threat to derail his quest was injuries. One year, a torn meniscus tendon in his knee sidelined him for six months.
"There were a lot of times when I was running through injuries thinking, 'I don't know if I'm going to make this or not,''' he said.
He also was often only one of a handful of runners his age in each marathon. In several races, he said it was just him and one other runner over 70.
-via Huffington Post
His eyes are up here, Miss C.