Runnin’ down a dream

EASLEY — Over the past 8 years my mom Christy Galloway and I (Meriwether Galloway) have been on a quest to accomplish our dream. This dream being to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) in every state. We have traveled all across the country running 13.1 miles on the weekends, and making the most incredible memories along the way.

This was not originally the goal for myself. I was not a runner, but my mom bribed me back in 2016 to run a half marathon. I was dreading it. However I ended up becoming hooked to the sport and decided to raise the bar. Following our first half marathon together in Savannah, Georgia we visited a friend of my mom’s who was on a quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states. I liked the sound of traveling around the country with my mom, and she couldn’t deny that she liked the idea too. Yet we had no idea what we were committing to.

The next weekend we were in North Carolina running the Charlotte half marathon. We traveled all around the southeast that year checking off states and burning through running shoes. As the journey continued we had to start flying in order to keep these trips a Friday through Sunday journey. We continued traveling even as I entered college and moved away from home. To be cost and time effective we would even do “double- header races”. Meaning we would fly to one state on Friday, run on Saturday, drive to the next state, run on Sunday, then drive back to the first state to catch the red- eye flight home so that my mom could be back in the office and I could be back at school by Monday morning. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Not all our trips were fast and furious. We chose states we really wanted to visit and explore to make big trips out of. Some of these states were Maine, Hawaii, Alaska, Texas, Florida, New York, and the grand finale state of California. These trips were special, and were an incredible way to see all of the beauty in the states across the country. We also had the privilege of reuniting with old friends, and making some new friends along the way too.

This experience taught us so much. We perfected our race routine. We found the best food in every state. We considered ourselves professional airline travelers. We found some of the best races in the country and some of the worst. We learned how to pace ourselves… well my mom is still working on it. We mastered how to annoy each other to no end, but also how to make each other smile. Most importantly, we learned how to love one another and be each other’s best friend, race partner, and biggest fan.

When I reflect on this experience, I can’t help but think how tough it was, but how that pain led me to the most incredible journey.