Ashley Ahner pulls back her long blonde hair into a braid to prepare for what might be considered the most exciting run of her life. As she pushes her pink and blue Mizuno waveriders into the pavement she quickly puts a distance between herself and the starting line, running ever so rapidly towards the 50 yard line at Jordan Hare Stadium. Not only is this the finish line for this particular race, but it also the last race Ahner needs to complete her goal of running a race in all 50 states.
On Saturday, March 19 Ahner completed her goal by running in her 50th state, Alabama, at her alma mater, Auburn University.
Ahner began her journey in 2012 after running half marathons in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and Missouri, her home state, she asked herself, why not run a half marathon in all 50 states?
“I thought it would be cool to combine my love of travel with my love of staying in shape,” Ahner said. “It was actually supposed to be a life long goal, but it just sort of turned into this fun game for me and I ended up advancing a lot faster then I realized I would.”
Hunter Harrison, senior in marketing, said she thinks Ahner is inspiring.
"It's a really awesome thing to watch people reach their goals," Harrison said. "When I heard what Ashley was doing I felt inspired. I have actually made a greater effort to run every day now."
Anna McCarthy, senior in marketing, agreed with Harrison.
"The fact that Ashley completed her life long goal in such a short amount of time just shows how driven she is," McCarthy said. "I need to be more driven, so it's inspiring."
Ahner started running on her school’s cross country team in middle school and said she didn’t even really like it.
“I really just joined the cross country team because all of my friends did it and it was a fun way to stay in shape while also getting to hang out with my friends after school,” Ahner said. “I honestly didn’t even really like running, I saw it purely as an activity to hang out with my friends.”
Ahner continued to run on the cross country team throughout her high school years, never leaving the JV team.
Ahner laughed as she said, “I honestly was never really that good at running.”
During her undergraduate studies at Auburn University, Ahner ran recreationally but never competitively, until she started graduate school.
“During the years I was getting my Master’s at Auburn I started actually training for half marathons,” Ahner said. “I had a strict schedule of certain numbers of miles I was supposed to run a day, and I had a strict diet. Then, I got my tonsils out in 2012 and everything was ruined.”
Ahner said all her strength was gone after her tonsil surgery, but she pressed on.
Since 2013, Ahner has run a half marathon in a different state at least once a month.
Ahner said her favorite race was in Boise, Idaho.
“I know, it was so random,” Ahner explained. “But that race literally personified what this goal was all about, which was getting to travel to a new place and discovering how much it has to offer. I went to Boise with no expectations and as soon as I got there it had already blown me away. Downtown Boise was so gorgeous and surprisingly super hip and trendy. The race itself was probably one of the most beautiful runs I have ever experienced. The route went from a canyon, through pleateaus and neighborhoods. At the end they gave out baked potatoes. Idaho was a great race for me, the scenery was great, the food was great and the people were so nice.”
As far as running rituals go Ahner said she really doesn’t have any.
“I don’t usually do anything before a race, but every time, before I travel, I have to get the number seven breakfast combo from Chick-Fil-A. It’s a chicken ,egg and cheese bagel and it is delicious.”
Ahner said she still gets “the worst” anxiety before every race.
“It’s so funny to me because I have done so many races but I still get so nervous,” Ahner said. “How I made it this far I will never know. I eat McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A on a regular basis, and I just had to think about what type of running shoes I wear, but I have loved this journey.”
Ahner currently lives in Atlanta with her double-doodle dog named Tupelo, read about her journey on her blog.
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