Photo Courtesy Roxana Lewis Roxana Lewis runs along the shoreline in the Ocean Drive Marathon in Cape May County, N.J. on March 20, 2005. She has run a marathon in all 50 states.

Lewis is a member of the 50 States Marathon Club, one of two running clubs devoted to accomplishing this remarkable task, and has actually run more than 70 marathons. To qualify members have to have run 10 marathons in 10 different states. Her first race was the Los Angeles Marathon in 1993—a sweltering affair run in 90 degree heat. “I started marathoning to crosstrain for my real passion which is mountaineering,” Lewis said. “You can’t go out and climb a mountain to condition everyday. So that’s what started me running.” Lewis, a Gardena resident, began by running five miles a day, eventually working up to the longer distances required for the marathon.

After that, Lewis decided to run two marathons a year and even qualified for the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in April 1996. “I had to drop one hour from my personal record to qualify for Boston,” Lewis said. “It was my 50th birthday so I had to run 3 hours 55 minutes and my fastest time was 4 hours 53 minutes. I thought I’ll give it a shot—that’s all I could do.” In 1999, she heard about the 50 States Marathon Club, and started to steadily rack up the marathons. The feat is one of both endurance and logistics because of the travel. “I think in ‘99 I ran five or six so I jumped from two a year to five and the next year I ran eight marathons,” Lewis

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Some of the races she has run include big city marathons like Chicago and New York as well as smaller races in places such as Hogeye, Ark. and Cow Town, Tex. The opportunity to see different parts of the country is part of the appeal, Lewis said.

“I don’t know if I ever really would have traveled to all 50 states if I didn’t have a project like this,” Lewis mused. “Even Minot, North Dakota has a lot to say for itself.”

The Sansei started her 50 state odyssey in Los Angeles and finished on a rainy middle school track in Newport, Rhode Island in October 2005. While California has the most marathons of any state, smaller states such as Rhode Island offered a unique challenge.

“Rhode Island was my Achilles’ heel because Rhode Islanders had canceled their marathon two years before. The 50 State president (Steve Boone) talked someone into resurrecting it, because there were so many 50 Staters like myself that had Rhode Island to do,” said Lewis.

With the 50 states finished, Lewis has set her sights on new goals: climbing Kilimanjaro this year and running all 40 marathons in California. Besides running, Lewis is an experienced climber and a volunteer leader for the local Sierra Club. She has summited Mt. McKinley, Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. She says running gives her time to reflect and the knowledge that she can accomplish anything.

“I think it’s really important for women because we’re a more self demeaning gender and it just proves that the only limit is the one you set for yourself. If you give yourself permission, anything is doable,” Lewis said.

“The process to get there is really the daunting part and I’ve always said as a business owner that if somebody came and had on their resume that they were a marathoner I’d hire them on the spot.”