LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — You've likely heard that life is a marathon, not a sprint.
An adage encouraging people to take their time to enjoy life rather than being in a rush.
It's a concept Dale Buettner knows well as he wraps up a 25-year career with the Lexington Public Library.
“I originally came to Lexington to go to graduate school. Even though I never finished that degree, I stayed here in Lexington and started working at the library. I’m very comfortable around books," Buettner said.
Being around books is an appropriate backdrop as Buettner shares several chapters about his life.
While many have been written in Lexington, some have taken well outside of state lines.
Thanks to his feet.
“I’d lost a lot of weight and decided I wanted to give running a try," Buettner said.
"My first half marathon, I ran in under two hours; my first marathon, I ran in under four hours. Once I started doing it, I couldn’t quite get enough.”
Dale's first marathon was in Ohio on April 6, 2014.
Less than ten years later, he has claimed a medal from every state in the U.S.
From Florida to California, including Hawaii and Alaska.
"This is something I actually completed. That's a really good feeling," Buettner said
“Just being able to see the country and all the different and interesting adventures I've gotten to have along the way."
Buettner showed us just a small collection of his many medals from his races.
Giant mythical-themed trophies from Little Rock, Arkansas, to more subtle natural scenes of whales on the medal from Maui, Hawaii.
However, one of the most plain tokens of victory may hold the most importance.
"It’s for that 50-mile race that I ran in honor of my first wife," Buettner said.
Buettner's wife, Leslie, passed away in 2018.
As he was preparing for a 50-mile race in honor of turning 50 years old, he chose to pay tribute to Leslie during the massive trek.
One that proved to be as emotionally taxing as it was physically.
“I had that little bib (with her name and picture) on my back. People would come talk to me during the race about it," Buettner said.
"It’s very hard to run when you’re getting choked up. It was humbling but also very exciting experience to have done that.”
It appears multiple chapters of Buettner's life are ending.
He's completed his goal of running through all 50 states and ending his career at the Lexington Public Library.
Regarding the former journey, Buettner shared a message of support for anyone who wants to take on the same challenge or try to run for fun.
"This is something you can do even if you're not in super great shape. I ran a lot of fast races early on. These races were a lot slower in the past few years that I just finished.
"You just maybe have to be a little more selective in finding races that have a longer cutoff time. It's something you don't have to be in super good shape to do."
