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One day I crossed the Mississippi River. After thirteen hundred miles of running since departing New York City, I had reached Missouri. A fairly large group of other runners came out and found me there, and a healthy pack of us made our way through quiet back roads. In the early afternoon, we entered a footpath. The path meandered along serenely through the outskirts of town. I vaguely recognized this place; the surroundings seemed familiar. Rounding a curve in the path, it hit me. The memories came flooding in.

Ninety days and a lifetime of experiences ago, I had stood at this very spot. We had stumbled upon the starting line of the Lewis & Clark Marathon, the first stop on my fifty-marathon odyssey. Back then, the trees were full with green leaves and there were thousands of runners lining up; now the trees were brown and barren, having lost their leaves, and just a handful of us jogged along reflectively.

It struck me in the span of several strides that I had run from the finish line of the last of the fifty marathons in New York City to the start of the first marathon in St. Charles, Missouri. Since leaving New York on my journey home, I’d covered roughly the equivalent of another fifty marathons to reach this point. In a strange yet serendipitous way, the circle now seemed complete. San Francisco was still many miles away, but as I passed over this spot in Missouri, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.

In a weird, almost Forrest Gump–esque moment, I stopped, turned to the group of runners who surrounded me, and said, “I miss my family. I think I’ll go home now.”

At first, there were only confused stares. Then someone spoke. “That sounds like a good idea to me.”

Others chimed in, and soon there was a chorus of approval. Yes, they were right: Going home to my family was indeed a good idea. I thanked them for running with me, and also for their support and wisdom. We exchanged a few quick hugs and high fives, and just like that it was all over. And this time it felt
really
over.

They say all good things must come to an end. I guess the same holds true for all good runs. For a guy who’s never quite sure when to stop, this time I was. I tipped my head to the group with a wink, turned for the airport, and called it a run.

Editor’s Note

As this book was going to press, Dean was busy working on his next big adventure. Yes, all good runs must come to an end—at least until the beginning of the next one.

APPENDIX A

How Do You Train to Run Fifty Consecutive Marathons?

Along with traditional mileage training, one way is to use races as training runs. Below is a lineup of the races I completed in the six-month period leading up to the Endurance 50:

Date: March 18, 2006

Event: LA Marathon plus five miles to start and five miles back

Miles for That Day: 36.2

Date: April 1, 2006

Event: American River 50, Sacramento

Miles for That Day: 50

Date: April 2, 2006

Event: Whidbey Island Marathon, Washington

Miles for That Day: 26.2

Date: April 8, 2006

Event: The Relay, Calistoga, California

Miles for That Day: 120

Date: April 16, 2006

Event: Boston Marathon out-and-back

Miles for That Day: 52.4

Date: April 30, 2006

Event: Big Sur International Marathon out-and-back

Miles for That Day: 52.4

Date: May 6, 2006

Event: Miwok 100k, Marin Headlands, California

Miles for That Day: 62

Date: June 4, 2006

Event: Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon San Diego, plus 65-mile run to start

Miles for That Day: 91.2

Date: June 10, 2006

Event: Diablo 50k, Clayton, California

Miles for That Day: 31

Date: June 24, 2006

Event: Western States 100, Squaw Valley, California

Miles for That Day: 100

Date: July 15, 2006

Event: Vermont 100 Mile, South Woodstock

Miles for That Day: 100

Date: July 24, 2006

Event: Badwater Ultramarathon, Death Valley

Miles for That Day: 135

Date: July 30, 2006

Event: San Francisco Marathon

Miles for That Day: 26.2

Date: August 6, 2006

Event: Skyline 50K, Castro Valley, California

Miles for That Day: 31

Date: August 19, 2006

Event: Leadville Trail 100, Colorado

Miles for That Day: 100

APPENDIX B

Endurance 50 Stats and Musings

Event / Endurance 50

Duration / 50 Days

Location / 50 States

Total mileage run by Dean / 1,310

Total mileage run by all participants / 3,791,035

Total calories burned while running / 160,355

Fastest marathon time (New York City Marathon) / 3:00:30

Slowest marathon time (Tecumseh Trail Marathon) / 4:45:21

Average marathon time / 3:53:14

Hottest temperature (Arizona) / 104ºF

Coldest temperature (Alaska) / 38ºF

Greatest elevation gain (Tecumseh Trail Marathon) / 3,877'

Smallest elevation gain (Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon) / 40'

Total heartbeats while running / 1,374,721

Starting weight / 154

Finish weight / 153

Number of shoes / 5 Pairs

Number of socks / 18 Pairs

Number of lost toenails / 3

Number of blisters / 2

Longest drive / 12 Hours

Shortest drive / 55 Minutes

Average hours of sleep per night / 4½

APPENDIX C

Beginner’s Marathon-Training Plan

The following is a twenty-six-week training plan for first-time marathoners. It’s appropriate for healthy individuals who are currently not running at all. If you’re already running, you can still use the plan, but you may want to begin at some point after week one. I recommend that you begin with the first week in the schedule whose Sunday run is equal in distance to the longest run you’ve done within the past couple of weeks.

APPENDIX D

Personal-Best Marathon-Training Plan

Following is an eighteen-week personal-best marathon training plan. This plan is not appropriate for many beginners, because it builds up to more than fifty miles of running in one week, including a fair amount of faster running. But if you’ve already run one or more marathons, or you’re experienced at shorter distances, then this is a plan you could follow.