Meet Marathoner Carol Hughes
Having recently finished her 50th marathon, Carol Hughes, a member of the Watauga Ward (congregation) in the Hurst Texas Stake shares the life lessons she’s learned as a long-distance runner.
In 2010, I began a journey to become more physically active to drop some weight and become healthy. I began by walking 30 minutes a day, which transitioned into walks with short spurts of running. Eventually, I began running a couple of miles a day.
Several months later, I decided to enter a 5K. This was a big step for me, because the last 5K I had entered was in college and that did not end well. I was so focused on running it so fast that I made myself sick at the end and did not enjoy it at all. This 5K was much better and afterward, I wondered if I could work up to a 10K. I could and I loved it. Then I wondered if I could do a 15K.
The Tulsa Run is an annual 15K event that many in the city strive to do. It was difficult, many people don’t realize how hilly Tulsa is. I finished it and then thought, I wonder if I could do a half marathon. In early 2011, I decided to give the Topeka Half a try. It was very cold and very hilly. I finished, then wondered if it would be possible for me to do a marathon—26.2 miles seemed a bit daunting.
“Progressing through life is like running a marathon…it requires a good start and a strong, consistent effort all of the way to the finish.”
– Joseph B. Wirthlin, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
My sister Sherry was the actual runner of the family. She ran in high school and most of her life. She had not run a marathon yet either. We got together to plan it out. We decided on the St. George Marathon in Utah.
The day of the race we were in the lines for the port-a-potties when the starting gun went off. That was the last I saw of her until the end of the race. She finished in about four and half hours and I came in a couple of hours later. Sherry never ran another marathon, but I was hooked. I told her she ran it too fast. I absolutely loved the experience of being surrounded by the beauty of God’s creations, the camaraderie with my fellow runners, and the quiet contemplation that comes when running long distance.
Sherry and Carol Hughes St. George, Utah.
My running adventures have taken me all over the country. This past November I ran my 50th marathon in the place where this country began, Philadelphia. Of those 50 marathons, 15 races have been ultras ranging from 50K to 100 miles. An ultra is any distance over 26.2 miles. The 100-mile race was completed in 2015 racing across the Keys from Key Largo to Key West in 32 hours and 11 minutes. The year before it was attempted but not realized. With the cut-off looming at 50 miles, stopping halfway at Marathon Shores, FL was the only distance attainable for me at the time. After more training and with the help and support from my husband, friends and my sister, they got me to the finish line.
Carol Hughes, finishes her 50th marathon in Philedelphia.
These days, I continue to train. I walk two and a half miles in the morning before work with my buddy Jackie. On the weekends, I cycle, run, and walk longer distances. My goal is to run a marathon in all 50 states, I have finished in 27 states. My next adventure will be in a 50K in the Chattahoochee National Forest of the North Georgia Mountains where I will also be able to visit my college roommate.
No matter what obstacles come in life, I have learned that hard things can be overcome one step at a time. You just have to keep focused on the finish line.
Article by Carol Hughes