I know someone who wants to run a race in each of the fifty United States. This is a notable goal both for its endurance and its geographic sweep. I thought perhaps I could help out by putting my unusual geo-perspective to good use . Maybe I could design race courses that clip multiple states. That way the runner could minimize the amount of travel necessary in the completion of this monumental task.
Well, except I ran into a couple of problems
There are several races that actually do cross either state lines or the boundaries between a state and the District of Columbia. Extreme examples exist all over the place. For instance, the Eastern States 20 Miler & Run for the Border Half Marathon uses the slogan, “One Race Three States.” Indeed, the longer course, the 20-Miler, goes from Kittery, Maine to Salisbury, Massachusetts via the narrow strip of New Hampshire seacoast. However, according to my runner’s strict criteria, you can only count one state if you cross a border.
The second problem is that a marathon distance (26 miles plus 385 yards or 42.195 kilometres) is rather limiting when compared to even the narrowest extremities of most states. Plus my intrepid runner prefers shorter distances like half-marathons and ten milers.
It’s a Thing
As an aside, I did uncover an organization called the 50 States Marathon Club with nearly two thousand members. These are people who, seriously, have run an entire marathon in each of the fifty states. I don’t even like to drive 26+ miles. To think, a couple thousand people have actually run that far in each and every state.
This club uses strict rules for qualified runs and the burden of proof. Here are some of their requirements from a geographic perspective:
The event must either start or finish in the state being counted. A marathon that has a route that runs into two states cannot be counted as two states; it counts as one… The Marine Corps Marathon counts as Virginia because it starts and ends in Virginia. Additionally, the National Marathon and/or Washington DC Marathon, which begin and end inside DC do not count towards the state count because the District of Columbia is not a state…
If a race starts in one state, crosses into another state, and returns to the original state, it may only be counted for the state where the race started and ended. (Example: The Flying Pig Marathon begins in OH, crosses into KY, and finishes in OH. It may only be counted for OH.)… If a race starts in one state and ends in another, it may be counted once for either the state where it started or where it ended. If the same event is run on a subsequent year, the race may be counted for the other state. (Example: The Hatfield McCoy Marathon begins in KY and ends in WV and may be counted for either state.)
Tough Standards
Imagine if I used strict criteria such as these for my county counts. I’d probably have to spend the night in each county and save the hotel receipt in perpetuity for it to count. Wow. County counting? Who cares. Marathon running? We don’t want any old poseur claiming he or she completed a marathon in every state.
Admittedly I have a much more relaxed standard than the 50 States Marathon Club, so within that context I decided to design several fictional marathon routes that would include territory in four states (couldn’t find any with more). I knew it wouldn’t help my runner friend but the quest grew beyond the original need long ago. It’s no longer a running dilemma, it’s a geography quandary.
There may be other fictional marathons and I’ll gladly accept suggestions and routes in the comments so feel free to take a shot at it. They can be located in any part of the world. If you want to design a route covering four or more counties in England or Ireland, Départements of France, or whatever, feel free to suggest it. I’m not picky. However, one ground rule, though: these can’t be hikes or trail runs, and no Jesus courses over water; routes have to go along established roads.
Twelve Mile Circle Marathon
Of course I needed a signature marathon befitting this website’s namesake. This one has all sorts of geo-weirdness going for it. The course starts in Pennsylvania, clips the corner of Maryland and crosses into Delaware at The Wedge, goes back into Maryland, then into Delaware, crosses its entire northern width within the Twelve Mile Circle itself and ends in New Jersey.
This is by far the easiest place to maximize states. There are a huge number of paths that complete the circuit. Why shouldn’t it be that way? After all, it’s the Twelve Mile Circle Marathon.
Berkeley Springs Marathon
What could be more beautiful than running along a rolling, green Appalachian valley? Plus runners would never get lost. This route travels a single road due north nearly the entire length. It starts very near the northernmost tip of Virginia, crossing into West Virginia and traversing the length of its Eastern Panhandle where it passes the historic town of Bath / Berkeley Springs. From there it crosses the Potomac River into Maryland, cuts through the state at its most narrow point at Hancock, and then terminates in Pennsylvania. I predict this one would win awards for sheer natural beauty.
Way Too Obvious Marathon
That would be any race starting or terminating at the Four Corners Monument, the only spot in the United States where four states come together at a common point. Here is one possible route:
Canada
I tried my hardest to find something in Canada but fell a bit short. Canada also has a four corners but it’s all muskeg and swamp, and is hardly conducive to runs requiring solid land. There are various tripoints between Provinces or combinations of various Provinces plus USA States (thus how I discovered the blurry border in a previous article). Again, I found these possibilities lacking because of their remoteness. Either roads did not exist or they were so rudimentary that a marathoner would probably break an ankle.
I found one really nice route that almost made it, involving Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It came out to 26.9 miles which is oh-so-close. Maybe we could add it to the Ultra-Marathon category of possibilities.
However, note that Nova Scotia owns the coastline so if we can find a pier or something that juts out from New Brunswick we could meet the technical requirement of marathon distance and call this the Bridge-to-Pier Marathon or something like that.
A European Example
This route includes four European nations, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Well, this specific route is 26.6 miles so it’s just a tad too long. However, Google Maps wouldn’t let me route through specific areas of some of the towns and I’m sure I could shave the rest off by going through pedestrian malls and such.
One More but I Won’t be Attending
It may be theoretically possible to plot a course here in this corner of Turkey, Iran, Armenia and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan.
However, the road infrastructure doesn’t appear to support a marathon into all four nations. Additionally there would be the very obvious issue of obtaining permission from each of these nations who are not always on the best of relations with each other. On top of that, people who happen to wander across the Iranian border might be facing even bigger problems. I think I’ll pass on this one.
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