Coast to Coast and beyond: Gayle Godfrey ran marathons in all 50 states, plus more

By RUSS BROWN • Photos Provided

Gayle Godfrey, a retired middle school teacher, ran her first marathon at age 44. She didn't stop until she had run over 100 more, including at least one in all 50 states over the course of three decades. Before she was through her total was 106.

Her first was the Louisville Marathon at Cox's Park in 1984. Number 100 was the Walker North Country event in northern Minnesota in 2003, but she didn't stop there. The same year she completed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run in Maryland, known as one of the scariest bridges in the nation due to its high elevation of 200 feet, narrow lanes, and exposure to strong winds. Three years later she ended her marathon career at age 65, returning to the Walker North Country. 

One of her most memorable races also came in the Land of 10,000 Lakes in the Gear Grease Ultra Marathon near Duluth in the dead of winter and requiring runners to wear snowshoes. However, it didn't count among the hundred as it was the only one she didn't finish, thanks to those troublesome snowshoes.

"I'd never put snowshoes on," Godfrey said. "I'm from Kentucky, I didn't know anything about snowshoes. The only snowshoes I had ever seen were on the wall of a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. It was terrible. The snowshoes kept banging on my legs and we were moving so slow."

After more than five hours and many falls into the deep snow, having covered only half the distance, she had to drop out due to impending darkness.

Fortunately, most of her races went smoothly, the only other exception being the Pikes Peak Hill Climb up the iconic 14,115-foot mountain in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Climbing from 6,300 feet to the summit for a grueling 7,800-foot vertical gain on switchbacks over rough, rocky trails, it is widely considered the most difficult standard 26.2-mile marathon in the world. Godfrey can attest to that; she tripped over rocks on the descent and fell, suffering painful scrapes and bruises. But she escaped serious injury and got up and kept running. 

Another memorable experience was the Blue Angels Marathon in Pensacola, Fla.

"When the runners started, all those Blue Angels took off too," she said. "You could hear them coming. They were really loud and low. It was spectacular. All this noise. The funny thing was it set off car alarms."

Occasionally she ran two marathons back-to-back on a weekend in neighboring states. Her best time came in her maiden race in Louisville at three hours, 34 minutes, 44 seconds, and it remained her favorite because so many friends and family members from the community were on hand to cheer her on.

"I was running faster because I didn't want to embarrass them," she said. "Then the time came over the years when I just wanted to finish in five hours. I always tried not to be the last one. I was always happy to cross the finish line and when I did that I told myself I was a winner." 

Godfrey, past president and still a member of the Iroquois Hill Runners, began entering races in the 1970s and they got longer and longer until she worked her way up to marathons, joined the 50 States & D.C. Club with five running buddies in 1997 and began working toward their common goal.

"We decided it would be really fun, so we started planning," she said.

 A prospective member has to run 20 marathons before qualifying for membership; that year alone, she completed 25 in as many states. While keeping in shape for running, Godfrey also had to be a dedicated planner, identifying and registering for sanctioned marathons and arranging for travel and lodging. She kept a map at home, coloring each state as she finished it.

 Following her inaugural '84 marathon, she didn't run another until 1987 in Long Beach, Calif. Only a handful followed the next nine years because she was still teaching. They came fast and furious after that, though -- she ran 89 from 1997 to 2003.

"I enjoyed it because I was with friends, the camaraderie," she said. "We'd run together, comment on things, talk about where we were going to eat, how pretty something was. And I got to see a lot of the country."

Her late husband, Gene, who died two years ago, always accompanied her on trips. He would sometimes run part of the way with her and always waited for her at the finish line.

"It was so much fun to do that together," she said. "I'm thankful I was able to do that. I stopped because my husband and I wanted to do other things." (She also enjoyed scuba diving)

However, she continued to run mini marathons and shorter races for a while and she stays in motion these days with a variety of activities that would tire most younger women. She works out on a treadmill in her home, lifts weights and exercises in the gymnasium at Southeast Christian Church, does volunteer work, and tutored elementary students for 10 years. She also walks regularly with a group of friends at a mall.

"I told them, 'We were all runners at one time, who in the world would have thought some decades ago that we'd be mall walkers?'" she said with a laugh.

Any advice for other senior citizens?

"I think the key is staying busy," she said. "Keep moving. Don't stay inside. Get out of the house."