FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Melinda Wofford does a lot. She's a community advocate who also decided to run in her city's election. "I am a Burgin City Councilwoman,” she explains.
It's one of the many ways she enjoys helping others. She says she'll run again this fall, but it's not the only race she'll run in. More than a decade ago, she started a new hobby.
"I have so many different commitments that I wanted to make sure that I still stayed health conscious,” says Wofford.
She’s a runner who has laced up, stretched out, and run half marathons in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Wofford says, "My goal was just to run with friends and have a good time and travel. I actually completed seven or eight half marathons before I officially decided yes, I’m going to run a half marathon in all the states."
Wofford has got more than 50 medals, having run multiple races in each state. Each one with a unique story.
She says, "This is from the derby half marathon that I recently completed."
Her medals are memories from good races and more difficult ones. She says she didn't set out to run in every state. But she says, "The medals are kind of a badge of honor."
Now that she's hit this milestone, she's doubling down and doing it again. She’s hoping to hit two half marathons per state.
Wofford says, "I've kind of already gotten mapped out for the year, some races I wanna do. But just in my journey I try to stay organized."
She keeps a spreadsheet of races and stats and binders of memories and notes.
A half marathon is about 13.1 miles. Wofford’s run more than 650 so far. By the time she's run a half marathon twice in all 50 states, that will be the equivalent of running about halfway from the East Coast to the West.
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Some surveys show that the average American has only visited 12 states. Wofford says seeing all 50 has been an incredible journey. She wants everyone with a goal to stay the course.
She says, "Just be mindful that it's not always gonna be a pretty finish, but you can finish. And just be positive."
