Alaska marks last state for 50-state marathon runner

Before last weekend, William Coumbe had never set foot in the Last Frontier. But, he had a bucket list to complete. He was 49 for 50 of not only visiting, but running a marathon, in every U.S. state.

Coumbe raced in Kenai’s annual Kenai River Marathon Sunday and is now part of a small group of athletes to have run marathons in all 50 states. Coumbe says there are slightly less people who have been to outer space than have accomplished this milestone.

“I just checked a bucket list item, which is huge,” he said. “If you can check an item off your bucket list before you expire, that’s huge, and I did that half an hour ago.”

Coumbe’s marathon days began 20 years ago, when he worked for an insurance group in Philadelphia. He says company leadership helped interested employees sign up for marathons. At that point, Coumbe had already run a 10-miler and half marathon, so he decided to go all in.

Coumbe, now 55, has since participated in a number of notable races, including the prestigious Boston Marathon. He says he enjoys racing marathons around the country because it allows him and his wife to exercise while seeing new places.

The couple picked the Kenai River Marathon because it worked with their schedule. They also wanted a unique Alaska adventure.

“We really wanted to see a little bit more of Alaska than fly in, take a Lyft to a hotel, walk around, just stay in the big city,” Coumbe said. “We wanted an Alaska experience, and I think we got it.”

Coumbe admits he didn’t exactly know what he was getting himself into when he agreed to come to Kenai. He researched the city and was fascinated by its history, specifically the 1797 Battle of Kenai when Dena’ina people attacked a Russian fort. He also didn’t know what weather or terrain to expect, so he packed for every possible scenario.

Coumbe says he’s thankful the marathon course was relatively flat and the rain held off.

“We know that it gets cold, but while it’s somewhat temperate, what a neat place. A neat place indeed,” Coumbe said.

Although he’s throwing in the hat for full scale marathons, Coumbe’s future plans are to run half marathons in countries around the world.

Until last weekend, Coumbe’s 50-state marathon goal was one of three things still on his bucket list. Still to be done? Smoke a cigar and drink a Cuba libre in Santiago, Cuba, and watch the Buffalo Sabres take home the Stanley Cup.