Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday July 18, 2024. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
What do you get when you trek 1,310 miles, go through 120 pairs of shoes, and visit 50 different states?
You get David Phillips running 50 marathons in 50 states!
It was 24 years ago that Phillips first ran in the Med City Marathon in Rochester and he just hasn’t stopped! He’s since ran the 26.2 mile stretch 60 more times, completing his goal of running in each of the states by heading to Anchorage, Alaska and completing the course with a solid 4:49.12 or splits of 11:02 per mile.
First Marathon
“My first marathon was in 2000, the Med City Marathon in Rochester,” noted Phillps of his first venture in the grueling race, where some just don’t finish. “I was active, playing tennis and basketball regularly, but only ran short distances occasionally to stay in shape. I’m not sure what prompted me to start running long distances. There were some difficulties, or changes, in my personal life, so in some ways it was like a midlife crisis, but cheaper and healthier than buying a Ferrari.”
It was almost a “one and done” but after some soul searching, Phillips continued on to his next marathon, but in Wisconsin at the Mad City Race in Madison a year later.
“After my first marathon, I wasn’t sure I wanted to run one again as it was quite an ordeal,” added Phillips. “My mother went to watch it and she said I looked green when I met her at the end. It took me another year to sign up again – this time for the Mad City Marathon. I got hooked, though, and started doing two a year or a couple years three if I ran one in the winter.”
Son Offers Encouragement
Phillips stated that most of his early marathons were close by, except one in Houston, Texas, that he ran with his brother who lives there.
“I have three brothers, one who ran short distances, one who doesn’t run at all and one who used to do marathons, but now runs shorter distances,” said the distance runner. “In 2003, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and in 2005, I ran the New York City Marathon, but the others were all relatively close.”
In 2007, he started venturing out regularly, often meeting a brother to run races in new places.
“We joked about doing them in all 50 states, but it was more of a vague wish then. In 2016, I ran in Sioux Falls, where my son lives, and was tagging along with a pacer, who runs a constant pace to get people to the finish line in a set goal, say four hours for example, when I mentioned to him that it would be nice to do all 50 states.”
South Dakota was state number 23 and Phillips was 51 years old, so it didn’t seem likely he would complete his goal.
“My son was encouraging, saying I could just keep doing what I was doing and would reach 50 by the time I was 70,” added Phillips. “I thought age 70 sounded quite old then and didn’t know if I would still be running marathons when I started approaching that age, so it still didn’t seem like a realistic goal. The next three years I did two each year so I was at 30 states when I retired from the newspaper business and covid hit. I didn’t run any marathons for nearly two years due to the pandemic and even thought that maybe my marathon days were over since it was sort of nice not training, but just running short and medium distances for an extended time.”
Changes Strategy
The other factor working against Phillip’s 50-state goal was that he had all the nearby states covered, so it would have been difficult traveling to the 20 remaining states.
“Then, I heard about ‘Mainly Marathons’, run by two brothers from St. Cloud, who set up marathons in consecutive days in different states in a region,” stated the runner. “Except for Mainly Marathons (MM), nearly all marathons are held on Saturday or Sunday to allow runners to participate without taking time off from work. The MM events are held daily in small towns or state parks and consist of loops, rather than a 26.2-mile stretch. I wasn’t sure I would like loops, so I tried one in western Ohio, a remaining state where I could still drive to participate.”
Phillips stated that the loops were somewhat boring, but it was fun seeing the people, whom he stated were very friendly, plus he saw them often.
“I felt this would work as it would save on travel expenses if I did more than one at a time even though I had never tried that before as my marathons had always been several months apart,” said Phillips. “Next, I tried doing two three days apart. I successfully completed both and then tried two two days apart before running back-to-back marathons and finally four marathons in five days in New England where the states are close together.”
Until recently, Phillips said he never imagined he could ever run 105 miles in five days.
“I ran those marathons slower, closer to a training pace that didn’t take so much out of me compared to a race, so I could make sure I finished each one. In 2021, I ran five marathons, and in 2022 and 2023 I ran seven marathons each year to get to 48.”
It was in January Phillips went to Maui in Hawaii to run his 49th state and on June 22, 2024 he completed his 50th state in Anchorage, Alaska.
“I love puzzles and the 50 states goal became somewhat of a game as I plotted out how to reach my goal,” noted Phillips. “My wife went with me to some of the early marathons, but not so much to those last ones as I was mostly running, so there wasn’t a lot of sightseeing involved. I joked to her before some of the trips (that involved more than one marathon) that I was going on a business trip to knock out more states. I really appreciate that she was so supportive of my goal even though she couldn’t share in the fun on many of them.”
No Easy Task
To accomplish this feat, it takes plenty of dedication, plenty of running shoes and just determination and grit in getting out to run and prepare for any marathon.
“I’d have to say all marathons are hard, which is why so few people attempt them,” pointed out Phillips. “As far as courses, I didn’t see a great range in difficulty on the ones I ran. Some had more hills, which make it harder and some were at 5,000+ feet above sea level, which I didn’t notice having an impact on me at all. The one physical condition that made marathons the hardest was the heat, which is hard to predict.”
Phillips stated that usually marathons are held during historically cooler times (ideal temperatures are 50 to 60 degrees), but weather has a lot of variables and the hot ones definitely brought down his times as the heat and humidity take a toll on the body across 26.2 miles.
Boston Marathon
“A lot of running a marathon is mental so I did have some marathons with ideal conditions that just didn’t end well and I never understood why. The one marathon in which everything came together as far as weather, a flat course, quality training and a good mindset throughout the race was in Detroit in 2008. I had my fastest time ever and I qualified for the Boston Marathon, which uses qualifying standards for entry that not a lot of runners can meet. Qualifying and running Boston was my greatest accomplishment until the 50 states, something I never envisioned the first several years of long-distance running.”
Training
Phillips said the training dwarfs the actual marathon. The schedule is usually 16 to 18 weeks with increasingly long runs once a week, usually on Saturday morning.
“I usually start with a 10-mile run at the start of training, then it gradually goes up until it peaks at 20 miles about a month before the marathon with a taper just prior to the marathon,” said the Spring Valley athlete. “In between the long runs, are shorter runs several days. When I was younger, I ran six days a week, then scaled back to five and now run four days a week. I still put in over 30 miles a week during training.”
Shoes played another factor, as running so many miles can break down a running shoe somewhat fast.
“I run through shoes pretty regularly. The recommendation is to replace them after about 300 miles and I have been averaging 1,500 miles of running per year, so that’s about five per year. I don’t hit the pavement hard, so there is little visible wear on my shoes, but when I re[1]place them I can tell the difference in the cushioning.”
The other factor is how much can a body take?
“I’ve never had any major physical problems,” said Phillips, who feels blessed. “I did have a hamstring injury before my Georgia marathon and my doctor told me not to run, but I already had the plane ticket, hotel reservation and marathon entry so I went with the plan of walk-running the course. My goal was to finish and not make my hamstring any worse, which I accomplished. I’m lucky that I have never had any knee or other major issues as many of my friends have had to take significant time out or drop running due to injuries.”
Nothing Better Than Scenery
Phillips pointed out that he ran 1,310 miles in 50 states with plenty to see.
“I ran underneath the massive redwoods in California, through all five boroughs of New York City, on the high desert of Navaho land in New Mexico and Arizona, though many neighborhoods of Chicago, along the Atlantic Ocean coast on the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the Wright Brothers first took to the air in a plane, off the Gulf of Mexico just yards from the water in Mississippi, in the higher elevations of Colorado, Utah and Idaho, and so many other places,” stated Phillips. “It isn’t just the destinations, though, as I’ve learned I can do so much more than I ever dreamed just by putting in the effort to try. It’s been quite an amazing journey all with the power of just putting one foot in front of the other – well over 2 million times through the 50 marathons.”
As far as most interesting runs, there were some views and obstacles only a marathon runner can take in.
“In Hawaii, I ran in Maui, which was still recovering from the awful fires the previous year,” noted Phillips. “The organizer had to change the course slightly so it didn’t end in Lahaina, much of which was still blocked off for renovation. The race started at 5 a.m. to beat the heat in Hawaii so I wore a headlamp the first couple hours of the marathon until the sun rose about 7 a.m. When daylight came, there was some great scenery and I even saw whales migrating off the coast.”
In Alaska, the marathon was held in Anchorage.
“No headlamps there as the sun did set, but it never got completely dark at night. The course was mostly on a trail through deep forests. I saw a moose at mile two about 30 yards off the trail, but no bears, which are often a problem on that course. It is ironic that the only time I saw a bear was in Connecticut on a fairly urban course. There was another bear sighting, although not by me, in the New Jersey marathon, which was in the rugged northern part of the state.”
How it Started
As for how Phillips started running, it was just, sort of, by punishment.
“The one year I played organized basketball in school, running (wind sprints) was used as a punishment if practice didn’t go well, so it is ironic that I would be running for fun, but long-distance running does bring me satisfaction in and of itself, not because it leads to better race results. It is sort of a meditation as I let my mind wander during runs,” commented Phillips as to how the initiative started. “When I worked, it was a good release after busy days at the office. I also wrote many stories in my head as I was putting in miles after work. There is also that feeling of accomplishment. Long runs may take a toll on the body, but mentally they lifted me as I had a satisfaction of completing an arduous task.”
Phillips noted that it has given him more confidence in his abilities and a better perspective on life as I take a longer view of things now, realizing all those little problems don’t usually matter in the long run (no pun intended).
“I’ve also learned about perseverance, grit, resilience and commitment,” added the harrier. “The once-a-week long runs also became social events as I usually run with the Rochester Running Club, which sets up a course with aid stations Saturday mornings during spring and fall training. I’ve become good friends with some of the runners who have about the same pace as I do. I don’t do it for weight control or longevity, but feel it has improved my all-around mental and physical health.”
On a side note, Phillips added that he finished one marathon with a hernia, which wasn’t caused by the running, but the surgery – the only time he had surgery in his life – keeping him off his feet for more than a month.
“I felt lethargic without the constant movement/activity,” added Phillips. “When I started running, I couldn’t even get to a mile before I felt winded. It felt awful, but since I had so much experience with running I knew it would get better the more I ran. It did help me understand why some people never begin running. If I thought every run was going to be like that first one, I would never continue, either.”
Keep On Trekking!
As for what’s next?
“I’ll keep running, but I’m not sure what goals I will have, if any,” continued Phillips. “I’ve had a lot of suggestions, though – run the seven continents, other countries, do the states again, but none of those appeal to me. I’ll turn 70 in seven months, which doesn’t feel as old as I thought it would when I was 50, but I realize I have lost a lot of speed and the longer distances take more out of me so my most likely goal is to just keep moving because that is where the magic happens.”
Publisher In His Blood
As for Phillips’ personal life, he and his wife, Pam, have lived in Spring Valley since 1981 and they have two grown children in Lisa and Greg.
Due to his father moving “quite a bit” while Phillips’ was growing up, he finally settled in Spring Valley in 1974, while David was still in college out east. He had purchased the Tribune.
Meanwhile, Phillips eventually went to college in the midwest and graduated with a degree in the humanities and a minor in communications.
“During college, I helped at my father’s newspaper during summers and became interested in journalism as a career,” noted Phillips. “After college, I moved to Boston, then Orlando, Fla., where I free-lanced for a suburban newspaper, and then Houston, Texas, where I worked for a suburban paper and then in a public relations department of an oil tool company.”
It was in 1981 that he moved back to Spring Valley when an opening at the Tribune came up, took over as editor and soon began purchasing the paper from his father, who died in 1988, at which time he became publisher.
“I later purchased several other community newspapers east of Spring Valley,” said Phillips, who had numerous weekly publications and a shopper before retiring in 2020 just as the pandemic started. “I was very active in the community and am still on the SV Economic Development Authority, serving as president this year, and am in my third term (second consecutive) as president of the Spring Valley Kiwanis Club. I was a founder of the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation and still serve on one of its committees. I also organize two running races in Spring Valley each year during city celebrations and I previously served on the board and as president several years of the Rochester Running Club.”
So, in the road of life, Phillips just seems to give back as much as he’s run, showing plenty of mileage for a community he’s grown to love.
All in all, just an outstanding accomplishment and something area runners will be talking about for years to come!
Article and Photos Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
