MUSCATINE, Iowa–When Teressa Lyon founded the Muscatine Running Friends in 2007, she saw it as a good way for runners to spend time with each other and encourage each other to run more often. Little did she know it would lead her and two of her close friends, Terry Hartsock and Nancy Shell, to run a marathon or half marathon in each of the 50 states.
After running together for some time, Hartsock, Lyon, and Shell started entering marathons together. They started out with races in Iowa and neighboring states. In 2012, they ran the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida together, where they completed a five-kilometer race on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday. Pleased with their success, they came up with the idea of running a marathon or half marathon in every state, with Lyon and Shell planning to run full marathons and Hartsock intending to run at least a half marathon. In all, they each exceeded their goal, with Hartsock running 64 marathons and Lyon and Shell running 65 a piece.
Over the course of the 10 years it took the trio to complete their goals, they experienced many unexpected situations. In 2013, they ran back-to-back marathons in the same weekend, first in Hartford, Connecticut then in Newport, Rhode Island, to reduce the number of vacation days they used and their travel expenses. In 2021, they ran three marathons in six weeks in Anchorage, Alaska; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Baltimore, Maryland to make up for lost time in 2020 when the start of the COVID-19 pandemic canceled races across the country. At the Anchorage Run Fest Races, Hartsock and Lyon also had the shock of seeing a bear cub, which wandered onto the course and put the race on hold until it left.
The three runners also saw many sights they would not have had the chance to otherwise. Hartsock loved the scenic beauty of the Leading Ladies Marathon through Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota in 2012, which took them downhill past two waterfalls. Lyon especially liked the Mad Marathon in Waitsfield, Vermont, which had a course that took runners through the Green Mountains. Shell got an especial kick out of competing in Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota.
After a decade of experiencing life’s ups and downs together and running all across the United States, Hartsock, Lyon, and Shell ran their final marathon, the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in Lahaina, Hawaii Jan. 16. All of the runners felt elated to complete their challenge after putting so much work into it. “We feel grateful and blessed that we were able to maintain our health during this journey and we did it!” rejoiced Shell.
Hartsock, Lyon, and Shell all plan to continue running together through the Muscatine Running Friends. They hope to inspire other runners to take up challenges of their own, and to follow the Muscatine Running Friends motto of, “keep running, keep smiling!”
