Badass grandpa runs marathons in all 50 states, puts the rest of us to shame

Running one marathon, or 26.2 miles, is an impressive feat on its own. In fact, there are people who run many marathons in their lifetimes. Then, there’s 73-year-old John Maultsby, a Las Vegas native who just finished running a marathon in every US state.

For those of us who may have dozed off during our geography class, that’s 50 marathons. And for those of us who dozed off in math class, that’s 1,310 miles (Okay, I admit it. I had to use a calculator for that one).

On his 60th birthday, Maultsby made a promise that he would run a marathon in all 50 states, and 13 years later, he checked them all off the list, ending with New Hampshire. Maultsby’s final run was at the Anthem Manchester City marathon, where he ran the whole thing in 4 hours, 9 minutes, and 15 seconds. This, incredibly, was his seventh marathon in this year alone.

Maultsby has stayed humble, claiming that he knows other people have achieved this goal is much less time, but he argues, and we agree, that beginning this venture at age 60 makes it even more impressive.

His story should serve as motivation for anyone who thinks it’s too late to try something new, or that they’re taking too long to get to their goal. A new adventure is always worth starting, and the best adventures, whether they be running 50 marathons or creating something at work, take time to complete.

It’s not entirely clear what’s next for Maultsby, but if he wants my professional opinion, it should probably involve a couch.

(Image via Shutterstock)