Annika P., from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, has been a member of 50 States Half Marathon Club since since 2017. Annika completed the 50 States Half Marathon Challenge™ in 2019.
A little inspiration shared by Annika P., in her own words:
What inspired Annika to join the journey?
"A combination of wanting to travel to new places and combining a race with it, a.k.a. a 'racecation.' My friend and I were, at the time, very into the RnR heavy medals, so we tried to find places that had races that we wanted to go to, and did Nashville and Vegas RnRs. I also had a work trip that was conveniently the same time as the RnR New Orleans. I did a few more RnRs, and then I met a girl at my local running club who was doing the 50 states and it got me thinking, and we planned a double weekend to do Alabama and Georgia. From there I just went crazy with it."
Annika's experience through the journey:
"I think the biggest thing for me was doing something on my own. I so often relied on others to make things happen, and I realized that if I waited around until someone was available for every race, I'd never finish. I did my first solo race as #11 - Kansas and it made me a lot more confident. I sometimes preferred doing them on my own because I could make all my own arrangements and do whatever I wanted! I think overall, I gained a ton of confidence as a formerly somewhat shy person. I forced myself to talk to people and sit at bars and stuff by myself, because I didn't want to just sit in my hotel room alone. I went to baseball games, tours, wineries/breweries/restaurants, national parks by myself and always had a good time. It was also fun to have company, and got to do a lot of fun trips with friends and my husband."
Inspiration from Annika, for members working on their journey, or considering joining the journey:
"Sign up for all the credit cards you can! I know some people think that is a bad idea, but throughout the journey I have had American Air, Delta, Alaska, Hilton and Marriott cards and got so many free hotel rooms and free flights because of it. And I still have excellent credit. I took advantage of all of the sign-up offers I could. And the other thing would be to just make the journey your own. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you finish, just enjoy the journey and try to do something/see something/eat something different every where you go."
