50 in 50

After I ran my first marathon, I knew I wanted to run another. I made the goal of running one in every state. Yes, I was hooked. Here's how my map looks so far. 

11 down, 39 more to go.

It's interesting to me to explain why I've run the states I have. Let's see if you agree.

1. Arkansas: I'm from Arkansas, and I lived there at the time. That's a no-brainer.
2. Tennessee: At the time it was about a 2.5 hour drive to Memphis. Easy-peasy.
3. Alabama: By this point I had moved to Mississippi, so I thought Mississippi would be #3. But, due to timing, I needed to run one at the end of the calendar year (long story). So we loaded up my 9 month 27 day old baby boy and made the 3-hour drive and got it done.
4. Illinois: Being that I went to college in Chicago, the Chicago Marathon was on my bucket list. There ya have it.
5. Texas: I had one more free airline ticket to use up from my pre-Dave Ramsey credit card days, and due to timing and available flights, it had to be Texas.
6. Missouri: By this point it had become all about the medal (and it still is!) so we made the 5-hour drive and I earned an awesome caboose medal.
7. Ohio: The Flying Pig is a top notch event with an awesome medal. As a bonus, Cincinnati is gorgeous.
8. Idaho: A huge family vacation prompted this one.
9. Georgia: I could run with my longtime friend (a bit) and we could drive to this one as a family.
10. Mississippi: At last! The medal is incredible, and it's a short 3-hour drive to Jackson.
11. Wisconsin: Again, an awesome medal, plus a short drive from Chicago.