Mary McGuire, 73, of Santa Barbara, California, displays a T-shirt showing the 47 states where she has participated in half-marathons. She will participate in Columbus’ Mill Race Marathon today.
Mary McGuire is on a cross-country quest, although she readily acknowledges that, on multiple levels, it’s just going to take a while.
McGuire, 73, of Santa Barbara, California, will be participating in the Mill Race Half-Marathon this morning — walking, she makes clear, not running — as she works toward her goal of completing 13.1-mile events in all 50 states. She’s used to being at the back of the pack, though she says she sometimes finishes first in her age class.
“I’m obviously not athletic, not skinny, and I found something that keeps me going, keeps me energized,” McGuire said. “It’s a very positive and supportive community, even though I’m not a runner,” she said.
Completing the Mill Race Half-Marathon today will make Indiana McGuire’s 47th state, then it’s on to Nebraska next week for No. 48, Illinois a couple weeks after that, and, she hopes, an event in Maui, Hawaii, in March to complete her quest. McGuire said whether that event will take place as scheduled is still up in the air due to deadly wildfires from which the region is still recovering.
McGuire and her grandson Carlo, who also lives in Santa Barbara, arrived in Columbus in time to spend Friday sightseeing, hoping to take in some of the city’s iconic architecture. She said Carlo, a film student, will be participating in today’s Mill Race 5K, and he was thrilled to see the Mill Race Park Tower that he recognized from scenes in the movie “Columbus.”
“We’re hoping that we can watch it while we’re here,” McGuire said of the 2017 film that stars John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson and some of Columbus’ noted modernist architecture.
After picking up her race packet at The Commons on Friday morning, McGuire planned to head to the Columbus Visitors Center and pick up a map for a self-guided walking tour.
A retired surveyor for the city of Santa Barbara, mother of two, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two, McGuire said she’s always loved the outdoors, walking and hiking. She began her 50-state quest in 2005, but in the past several years, she’s been slowed not just by COVID, but by two hip replacement surgeries.
She’s bounced back from all that strongly, checking off events in more than 20 states in just the past two years. And while she may be among the last to finish, there’s something to be said for her pace.
“I’ve seen all 50 states, and every state has its own beauty and uniqueness and diversity,” she said. “And I’ve just enjoyed all of it.”
