Runner strides to complete a marathon in every state at the Honolulu Marathon

By Brian Ojima

Click here for updates on this story

    HONOLULU (KITV) — Ben Jones is looking to complete a marathon in all 50 states by running in the Honolulu Marathon this Sunday.

The 34-year old runner from New York has already completed a marathon in 49 states, which he has finished each of them in under three hours, and hopes to accomplish this remarkable feat. Hawai’i is the 50th and final state on his list.

This is a journey that started way back in 2009 when Jones completed his first marathon in Virginia. Since then, he’s completed 49 states, but he’s had to repeat a couple of states because he finished in over 3 hours. In New Jersey, he missed the three-hour mark the first two times before finally getting under on the third try.

With Hawai’i being the 50th state, it’s only fitting that it’s the final piece to his amazing feat.

Jones shared his excitement for the race, “It’s really cool that Hawai’i’s going to be the final one. It’s basically a coincidence that it’s Hawai’i. It’s just hard to travel to, obviously from New York.

It’ll be warmer than I like and I think it’ll be the third warmest race I’ve ever done. The race on Sunday, for those finishing in the three shower mark, should be around 70 degrees.

There’s a good chance I’m gonna try to pick up my daughters and have them come across the finish line with me, which is something I’ve done at a few races. My little sister is actually also running the race. So as long as she doesn’t beat me, then I’ll be waiting around to see her finish. And then, certainly would like to get a beer, even though it’ll be 8 in the morning.

Let’s all raise a glass on Sunday as we’re wishing him the best of luck.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.