Medal Monday brings many stories of achievement for our members. Here are recent stories from the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics, as told by you, as posted on the Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook pages.
Cheryl Ebert Crooks–Kristin McLendon(MM15954) and I connected at the Sackets Harbor marathon! I swear I am twice as tall! This girl moved those shorter legs to a sub 4! Love it! She is a true Maniac to be REPEATING states to get sub 4s in them!
Carla Champ Marie Simon(MM14304, DA3133, HF13789) – I ran the Marquette Marathon today, less than two weeks after finishing the Wausau Marathon. I finished in 5:17. I stayed ahead of the 5-hour pacer — the slowest one they had — for the first 20 miles, but then my body tensed up and I had to walk more of the last 6. Still got it done.
This was my first time finishing a full marathon in Michigan, so a new state for marathons, though I’ve run plenty of halves there.
Devesh Khatu(MM10488) – #173. Finished my 2nd Hyderabad Marathon and 4th in 6 weeks 🙂 The course was quite different from when I ran it in 2019, starting at ~18km. The last 12km were on the huge and beautiful University of Hyderabad campus. While I wasn’t going for time, nevertheless finished 5 minutes faster than last week. The race was very well organized overall… it makes a huge difference to the experience when a runners organization puts it on! I’ll run this again when in India around this time!
Jayvee Ventura (MM10519) & Frances Espina(MM13510) – Cold, windy, but one helluva good time at the Reykjavík Marathon! 🏃♂️🇮🇸💨
Tina Torun(MM15672, DA3655, HF16109) – Welcome Kat Krogstadt(MM16329, DA3850, HF19004) – ! Latest Marathon Maniac after running the Humpy’s Marathon! I met Kat and Brenda Folkerts at the bib pick up, as Brenda would be a Marathon pacer. We were talking about the Marathon Maniacs and when she heard the qualifications 3 marathons in 90 days, she thought about it and realized she would qualify! Her goal is 100 Marathons! This ambassador is happy that you joined! MM15672 HF16109 DA3665
Tina Torun(MM15672, DA3655, HF16109)– Anchorage RunFest, 3rd weekend of August is always a busy and fun weekend! There are race distances for everyone. This race is the main fundraiser for the Anchorage Running Club and proceeds go towards running club scholarships. As the Alaska Ambassador for Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics and a volunteer on the Anchorage RunFest race committee, I try to make sure everyone has a fantastic time! The weather cooperated and while it felt humid for us Alaskans, it was cooler weather for our visiting runners. Several, I knew hit prs, a few friends were close to BQ times, and the ultra marathon saw a new course record by the 4x winner! The 5k shakeout run, kids 2k, military mile and 1 mile race was on Saturday. On Sunday, the races were the 49k Ultra, marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, and 5k. Since there were so many different start times, it was really hard to gather folks for a group photo. It was so nice to meet so many and see my runner friends again! I guess a few out of state friends said I didn’t warn them about the hills. All our races end going up a hill! At least, it isn’t ending going up a mountain. Hope you enjoyed the race! Free finish line photos!
Debby Cannon(MM15148) – Pocatello Marathon #235- feeling alive! Fueled by a loaded baked Idaho potato- I finished this race strong. Pocatello Marathon | SE Idaho always puts on a top notch race- way to go Idaho! Great swag, logistics, aid stations and more. Kudos to always having a race I can highly recommend.
Pascal Radley(MM2051) – A Sydney Marathon finish for my 7th World Marathon Major, 2nd marathon in Australia, 3rd in Oceania, and #533 overall.
Boston ✅
Chicago ✅
NYC ✅
Berlin ✅
London ✅
Tokyo ✅
Sydney ✅
Cape Town (registered May 2027)
Shanghai? Not official yet, but likely
Lynne Kilirnr(HF13464, DA2065, MM12242) – Shoreline half is in the books.
Definitely unprepared.
Didn’t hydrate
Didn’t eat much
Didn’t run
Didn’t warm up
Didn’t stretch.
Very bad cramps!
Got very weak!
Too hot!
No food on course.
Ran out of gels/gus.
It got ugly quick.
I almost passed out.
Lesson learned!
DO NOT SIGN UP the night before. 😣😩🤔
Kerri Haskins(MM1336, DA836, HF8724) – 4th time running this race since 2011. And now get to share the experience with Roy Van Buren. The trip and the race have been great.
Corinne Balmerchick Milligan(HF11316) – STATE #36, HALF #60 hills and humidity! The #blueberrycovehalf was super low key and the hills be hillin’ …… also passed the #marshalllighthouse #forrestgumplighthouse along the way!
Cyd Antang-Plotkin(MM7715, DA3802, HF18867) – Ran the Santa Rosa Half Marathon yesterday. Great to see lots of friends. Lifetime half marathon #116.
On Friday volunteered at Devon’s program. They had a car wash fundraiser.
Dana Pistole(MM13574, DA2794, HF9549) – Well I got my 7th Abbott World Marathon Majors ⭐️ in the books and MORE – my money’s worth….. I’m used to jet lag with my job, but this is a FULL JOURNEY to get to this AWESOME country with AMAZING people. I have to thank Jan Morris Gronemeyer and her family for helping me finish. After I was over the goo and warm water, her son got me a burger 🍔 in the middle of the race💕. Thank you sooo much!!
I also want to thank my donors of Smile Train 😍. We had an amazing breakfast meetup, the day before. It’s moments like these I just keep putting one foot in front of the other!🏃🏽♀️
Aaron Stevens (MM14034) – Today’s run was pacing the 4:30 finish time at the Apple Tree Marathon in Vancouver, Washington. It is a pleasant 2-loop course through the small downtown, along the Columbia River, through the historic Fort Vancouver, and through the small Pearson Airfield. The weather was great and I had the pleasure of pacing two first timers who stuck with me all the way and finished strong!
This was my 11th marathon (or longer) of 2026, my 13th marathon in Washington state, my 13th time pacing a marathon in Washington, my 67th marathon as a pacer and my 113th marathon overall.
Heather Zeigler(MM3086) – I had a blast pacing the 5 hour marathon at Sydney today!! Oh, and it was my 7th Star!! I loved ❤️ it!! #sydneymarathon #pacing #marathonmaniacs
Alexis Davidson(MM926)- Walked the Dingle Marathon on Saturday. This was my 3rd marathon in Ireland and 4th on the island. 57-61F windchill with 8-16 mph winds and a little drizzle. 58F dew point. Wonderful fall weather requiring single layers on top and bottom. A circular route around the neighboring peninsula in County Kerry. Non stop rolling hills with 1300 feet of gain according to Strava. Most hills were low grade, but the largest at 21-23M was a bit steep. Much of it was next to the ocean, and the views were spectacular. I was able to do the first half around 2:46, but slowed on the hills in the second half and finished sub 5:46. 6 hour limit with 25 of 748 violating. DFL was 6:56. # Marathon Maniacs.
Meet Club Member & MM Hall of Famer: Julia K Garling (Pacer Julia)- (MM3960, HF2566, DA2566)
In 1998, I was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor and was incredibly fortunate to be treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. After surgery, I was too weak to walk and spent much of my time in a wheelchair.
Then, on the first Sunday in November, I heard a commotion outside my window. I wheeled myself over and saw thousands of people cheering for a parade of runners. For hours, I watched the New York City Marathon pass by.
I saw humanity at its best: people of every shape, size, and ability, all moving forward together. I noticed that some runners received especially loud cheers. I asked who they were, and someone told me, “They’re running for us. They’re raising money for the hospital.” It was then that I learned about Fred’s Team. That was my lightbulb moment.
Sitting in my wheelchair, unable to use my body, I made a deal with the universe: if I ever regained my strength and learned to use my body again, I would run a marathon, raise money for cancer research, and one day run past that very hospital wearing my survivor shirt, hopefully inspiring others who were still fighting.
I ran my first marathon in 2005. It was supposed to be a one-and-done. I trained for five months, raised thousands of dollars for charity supporting children with brain tumors, and crossed the finish line knowing I had kept my promise.
But running had other plans for me: I loved how training made me feel. I loved having a purpose, chasing a goal, and sharing my journey with others. I began running four marathons a year and slowly collecting states along the way. At my tenth state, Wisconsin, I met a runner from Alaska named Shane who told me he was running a marathon a month. That conversation changed everything.
We discovered that we needed some of the same states, so we started comparing plans and meeting up at races. Soon, marathon weekends became adventures together. In 2011, I ran 18 marathons, partly to collect new states but mostly because it meant more time with Shane. We discovered that we shared not only a love of running, but also a passion for travel and adventure. Before long, I was falling in love with him.
In 2013, at the Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge, Shane dropped to one knee and asked me to run the marathon of life with him. We have been running together ever since.
Being a Marathon Maniac for the past 15 years has brought me love, lifelong friendships, incredible adventures, and a sense of pride in myself that I never knew was possible. I went from relearning how to walk after brain surgery to running my 333rd lifetime marathon and joining the Marathon Maniac Hall of Fame.
Joining the Marathon Maniacs changed what I thought was humanly possible and, especially, how I saw myself. I was no longer limited by my challenges; I was challenging every limitation that stood in the way of my goals.
I once sat behind the glass at MSK and watched runners pass me by, wishing I could simply be on the other side. This year, as I run past the hospital where I was once a patient, wearing my survivor shirt close to my heart, I’ll also be carrying the 4:50 pacing flag and remembering that young girl in her wheelchair watching.
It’s hard not to think about how many miles I have put between myself and that young girl, both metaphorically and physically.
Marathoning has given me so much. First, it gave me back my body. Then, it brought me true love, amazing friendships, and crazy adventures. But ultimately, it brought me a life I couldn’t have imagined while sitting in that wheelchair in 1998.
Rachel Ross(HF6506) – very rainy race ( the kind where the puddles are so big you just have to go right through them). Some of the first finishers ran through thigh deep water in the tunnel before the rest of us were diverted to run across the boulevard. Lots of friends today so I stopped to talk on the course, knowing it would be too cold and wet to stay around very long at the finish line. Day 2 of the 3 race weekend done. Van Nuys, CA.
Sue Stevens(HF8593, DA2452, MM12891) – After having to miss Saturday’s race because of jet-lag, it was great to be at it again on Sunday. Great fun seeing friends and running the Iron Horse Half Marathon!
Tim Mullican(MM7665) – On Saturday and Sunday, I participated in the inaugural Dog Days 24 hour ultramarathon in Missoula, MT. It started at noon on Saturday, but I arrived about 9 am and set up my camp in case I wanted to get a little sleep during the night. We had to park about 1/4 mile away from the start and down a steep hill. Just before the start, I realized that I forgot my sunglasses in my car, but I thought I’d run a lap or two before going down the hill to my car. I did one 1.68 mile loop and then went down to my car and retrieved my sunglasses. By the time I got to the course, It was already getting hot out, so I sat down and waited until Ron Reid came around to the finish so I could join in with him. I didn’t know it, but it got up into the mid-90s in the afternoon, and I was dragging. Later in the afternoon, some thunderclouds started moving in, and we had a gust that blew down at least half of the runner’s tents that were set up. Fortunately, I had used about 8 long tent stakes, so my tent didn’t go flying. When the sun started going down, the temperature also dropped and I immediately started feeling better and increased my running intervals. I ended up with an official total of 35.28 miles, but because I had gone back to my car and had gone back and forth to my tent, my GPS watch showed over 38 miles. For some reason, when I stopped my watch, it froze up and my data file ended up being corrupted. I tried to fix it with online tools, but to no avail.
Kandi Lowry(MM12227, DA2069, HF13600) & Rob Lowry (MM12228)- Sydney 🐨🦘Marathon in the books! Beautiful but hilly course.
Hank OnThe Hill(MM14044, DA3029, HF16561) – Almost Heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River…
Moonlight on the Falls Marathon #124, West Virginia #44 for R2 for 50. Yes there was a moon and the falls roaring in the distance. Second night marathon in 30 days, this one started at 10PM. I believe it’s time to play in daylight; while the LEDs are very very impressive this was a good overall experience. Humid and cool. Caught up with several friends !!
The question for this event is; was the marathon the marathon? Or was the journey the “marathon”? 31ish hours round trip.
…Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads….
Katie Galvin(HF18478, DA3721, 15882) – Its been a while since I had a #medalmonday post! Drove about 13 hours on Friday with the pup and made it in time to check in to the Townsend/Great Smoky KOA (highly recommend!!) and then quickly got ready and got over to the race expo and the evening 5k. It was HOT and HUMID but we’ll organized. Then up early Saturday for the Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon! Waiting for the start we had an amazing sunrise, watched the smoke flowing through the mountains, some horse friends and cows mooing along with the national anthem! It was a hot, hilly and humid race but scenic and #VacationRaces gets some great medals!! Black bear challenge completed!! And a great time in the Smokies!
State #31 ✅️
Karen Murray Anderson(MM8075, DA576,HF5492) & Glen Anderson(MM2674)– 🏃♀️🌊 Double marathon last weekend! Kicked things off on the sandy shores of Far Rockaway Beach, NY, then drove up to the Green River Marathon in Marlboro, VT. Talk about a change of scenery! From beach boardwalk vibes to dirt road trails—who knew we could run in so many different states of mind? 😄 (yes, play on NY State of Mind 🎶)
Nothing beats that refreshing ocean dip at the finish in NY after sweating it out. Running with Julia for half was awesome❤️! If it wasn’t for her, I would not have made it this far with running these many years! So grateful to spend time with her! Thank goodness for those showers along the boardwalk, they were a lifesaver when the sun decided to pop out! ☀️. We did get lucky with a couple hours of cloud cover. Always great to see Alexis! He is amazing. He walks as fast as we run. I need to learn how to do that!
Then there was Sunday in VT—let’s just say it was a “light sprinkle” kind of day. Keenan was my trusty sidekick for the entire VT marathon. Seriously, running with him made the miles fly by, even when I was feeling a bit queasy. 😅
Stats alert! For those still keeping track: I beat Glen on Day 1 by a solid half hour, but he got me back on Day 2 by 8 minutes. It’s all good though—more time with Keenan means I’m the real winner here! Of course, I need to skew it my way. 😜🤣
It was a nice beaches to greenery, dirt road weekend! With a stop for dinner with my daughter, Courtney Dara on the drive up. ❤️
Deo Jerome(MM22) – Hyderabad Marathon India 🇮🇳. My marathon/ultra #636 and marathoncountry#80. 20 more to 100 😊. Overcast and not hot . But was kinda humid. Lots of climbs in Flyovers (there were at least 5 of them). I ran/walked most of the time and the last 12K just walked it . My left knee been bothering me. So no marathon the next two months . I need a break and my knee and lower back need one too. 😊
Maricris Lu(MM12438, DA2188, HF10592) – 2026 Sydney Marathon (26.2 miles/42 Km)
3rd World 🌍 Major!
Marathon number 84!
I am forever grateful to God for finish lines! This race was something I wished I had prepared for but life priorities shift and I am just blessed to be here.
Ran with 40K runners on race day!
What an amazing experience! To God be the glory!
Sharing some photos, still jet lagged and will finish soon.
Thank you 🙏🏻 for all the well wishes and inspirations. Appreciate it.❤️
Julia K Garling(MM3960, HF2566, DA2566)- Nothing is too far, if ones’ desire is great enough. The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing—desire. And before it, when it is big, all else is little.
Sydney, you shine so brightly! A delayed #medalmonday
It has been an amazing week, and I still have to pinch myself. I feel so incredibly lucky that I got to experience this incredible journey to the land down under. I loved every minute of the trip—except, perhaps, for the jet lag that comes with such a long flight. But in all honesty, that is such a small price to pay to be in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and make lasting memories with good friends.
As I squeeze myself into an economy seat for 18 hours, I feel so incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to participate in such a truly iconic event!
While Sydney wasn’t a new city for me, the experience was entirely transformed now that it has joined the World Marathon Majors. When I last ran Sydney, in 2017, there were only about 3,000 finishers; this past Sunday, there were over 40,000 people who crossed that famed finish line. I love the Majors so much—the crowds, the amenities, and the electric energy—so I knew I couldn’t be disappointed.
What truly surprised me, however, were the hills. I have run the New York City Marathon enough to feel comfortable with elevation, but Sydney proved to be the hilliest Major I have ever encountered. The course featured relentless undulating terrain and rolling hills, including the crossing of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, totaling about 1,040 feet of elevation gain. Even at the very end, when the finish line was so close, the hills kept coming.
I almost lost my resolve in that last mile, as I told myself, out loud, ‘suck it up buttercup and keep pushing.” I hung on for dear life and am so grateful I was able to pull through in the end, finishing just within my targeted goal.
Marathoning is much like life: you get out of it what you put into it. While most participants trained intensely for the last three months, I chose to take the summer off to give my body a real break. My last marathon was exactly three months ago in Cork, Ireland, and I entered this race with a tiny bit of fear, wondering if I had forgotten how to push hard when the exhaustion sets in.
I haven’t taken a three-month break like that since 2010, before I became a Marathon Maniac. Despite that fear, I finished with a mile wide smile on my face and gratitude in my heart. I leaned on muscle memory, and even though my longest run recently was only 18 miles, at Summer Streets, I still remembered how to persevere when every part of my body screamed that it had had enough. I haven’t worked this hard for a medal in a very long time. Thank you, Sydney, for showing me that I am still strong, and thank you to my body for learning to bloom from the wound where I once bled.
This is certainly not the last time I will pin on a bib and set an audacious goal, but for now, I am simply looking at this beautiful medal and smiling from ear to ear. Gratitude is pouring out of every sore muscle. Marathoning for me is about passion, purpose, and community. Thank you, Sydney Marathon, for giving me everything I crave in spades.
And now, the numbers, 8th marathon this year, ✅; 349 lifetime marathons, ✅, 33 world marathon majors, ✅, a lifetime of memories made with good friends, priceless!
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics; Facebook Pages, Instagram Pages, threads pages and the individual members listed above.
Discover more from ManiacsFanaticsMadness
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.