This Man Ran a Marathon in all 50 States and on all 8 Continents

So often are we wooed with tales of remarkable perseverance and unfathomable conquests, that it’s easy to become numb to the near-impossible accomplishments of our running peers. But then there are stories that snap us back to reality and remind us to appreciate and look on with awe at those around us.

Enter: Dave Jones, an ultramarathoner, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur from Madisonville, Kentucky. Between January 25, 2017, and January 23, 2018, Jones not only ran a marathon on all seven regularly recognized continents, but he also finished marathons in all 50 states, plus the still-up-for-debate continent of “Zealandia.”

By January 31, 2017, Jones had already completed the “Triple 7 Quest”—now called the “Triple 8 Quest”—which took him to the seven continents for a marathon a day. Per an interview with WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR affiliate, Jones subsequently took some time off to recoup.

He ran his next marathon in March in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, then ran a few more before ultimately realizing he was could attempt to run a marathon in each state, on top of his earlier success in transcontinental trekking. He tacked on a race in New Zealand to cap off the year. With his 58th marathon in 363 days, Jones completed his journey to run verifiable, public marathon in every state and on every continent.

Jones broke his foot during his third to last marathon, then ran his final two races—in Hawaii and New Zealand—with the injury. Back in Kentucky recovering, Jones has had time to reflect on the whole experience.

It’s not his individual race results—which were tracked and logged—nor the completion of his self-styled “Eternal Endurance Challenge” that Jones considers the highlights of his journey.

Accompanying him at various events, friends and family were inspired by his tenacity. His mother ran her first marathon with him in Mississippi. His wife completed her first half marathon, and his daughter ran alongside him for a portion of a run. And his best college friend crossed the line of his first marathon as well.

It was the people he encountered, and the relationships he strengthened along the way, that made the journey one to remember.

“If you want to know what people are really thinking and what the other places in this country are really about, get to know other people and have a real perspective—go out and see it,” Jones told WKMS. “You may be really amazed by what you find.”

Jones hopes other runners will follow his lead, and attempt to tackle the Eternal Endurance Challenge.

“It is now, literally, an open challenge I’ve issued to anyone who will take it on,” he told Runner’s World by email. “I truly believe that I am not as good of a runner as most and that anyone can do it if they want to badly enough. Right now the Eternal Endurance Challenge Finishers Club has one member. I hope it’s not that way for long.”