Local Iroquois County Man Finishes Ambitious Goal of Running a Marathon in All 50 States

MARTINTON, Ill. (WCIA) — You could say Larry Burton has done a lot of running in his life.

The 65-year-old from Martinton in Iroquois County began his running journey at the age of 12, shadowing his father as he worked the fields on their family farm. After participating in track and field events during his school years, Burton shifted his focus to road racing at the age of 18. He entered his first marathon in Terre Haute, Indiana, four years later.

Burton estimated he ran in 300 races before 2006, when he was struck by an idea.

“I was on my way back from Jackson, Tennessee, of all places. I had just completed a marathon there,” Burton recalled. “As I was casually driving back, the thought crossed my mind: ‘Why not run a marathon in every state?’”

At that point, Burton estimated he had already completed marathons in 11 different states. About two decades later, he reached Alaska, his 60th marathon and the final state on his list. When he crossed the finish line last week, he had accomplished his goal of running 50 marathons in 50 states.

To put the distance into perspective, 50 marathons add up to 1,300 miles, about halfway between New York and Los Angeles.

In his home state of Illinois, Burton took part in the Chicago Marathon in 1985 and the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon in its third edition in 2011. However, his favorite marathons took place elsewhere.

“In my early running years, during the 80s and early 90s, I participated in Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, for five consecutive years,” Burton shared. “The event really captivated me. The course begins alongside Lake Superior and leads back into town. The scenery is simply breathtaking.”

Burton also highlighted the scenery of Hawaii and running in another one of the World Major Marathons besides Chicago: Boston.

“I have friends from school who settled near Phoenix, Arizona, and they host a rock and roll marathon that winds through three cities in the area,” Burton added. “The course featured 16 bands performing live along the route.”

Also in the southwest, Burton was able to visit a location where fellow, fictional runner Forrest Gump visited. In Monumental Valley, Utah, Burton ran down the road where Forrest ends his cross-country run in the movie.

“My wife took a video of me, and she shouted into her phone, ‘Run, Forrest, run!'” Burton said with a laugh. “That was really special.”

Burton’s pace picked up after the COVID-19 pandemic, as he ran four or five marathons per year between 2021 and 2024, all in different states. He scheduled his marathons through a group called Mainly Marathons, which takes runners to different regions of the nation to run marathons in several states, often back-to-back.

“A person can go from each of those states and maybe drive an hour to run a marathon,” Burton explained. “In 2024, my wife and I drove out and I did two states in New England. We drove back home; I flew out two days later and ran Vermont and New Hampshire back-to-back.”

The common philosophy used to be for runners to take a month between marathons, but Burton said that thought is “kind of out the door” now.

Earlier this month, with only Alaska left on his marathon checklist, Burton went to Juneau for a marathon Mainly scheduled for Aug. 8. That was the day when his goal of 20 years was finally accomplished.

“It was just a fantastic experience. This group I run with, [one of them] he welcomed me, said ‘Hi Larry. Hope you do well on your fiftieth state,'” Burton said. “It was just great community support as well as family support. It was just an exhilarating feeling to know that, ‘Hey, I got one more mile and it’s going to be all done.'”

Burton’s wife and son were both on hand with a poster and a specialized flag to congratulate him on finishing his goal. When he crossed the finish line, Burton thought, “It’s finally done.”

But Burton isn’t done marathoning. He’s already planning to run another marathon to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Some of his friends have even suggested running a marathon on every continent — even Antarctica — or in every country.

“I still love to run, and I’ll still be doing local races,” Burton said.

So what’s Burton’s secret to running 60 marathons in his life, and running into his 60s?

“Well, I think it’s part of my DNA because of running so long. I’m blessed with a good body to run, and I got instilled to me at an early age that physical fitness is important part of life.” Burton said. “Obviously helped me to be able to sustain my running for now in more than 50 years.”

Reflecting on his life of running, Burton summed it up with a quote from Forrest Gump.

“As Forrest says, I just wanted to run,” Burton said. “And that’s been my life.”