Shaler Area teacher has run a marathon in all 50 states

When Jeff Ward runs in this year’s Pittsburgh marathon on May 3, the experience will be a little more than familiar for him.

Mr. Ward has run a marathon in every state, making him a member of the 50 States Marathon Club — quite an accomplishment for a guy who admits he was never very athletic.

Mr. Ward, 40, who teaches at Shaler Area High School and lives in Greenfield, ran his first marathon in Pittsburgh in 2001 and completed his goal of running in every state with a marathon in Hawaii 10 months ago.

He took his mother with him to Hawaii, he said, because she was at his first marathon in Pittsburgh and he wanted her to be there when he ran in his 50th state, becoming one of the 3,718 members of the 50 States Marathon Club.

Of the 50 marathons, Cheyenne, Wyo., was the most difficult, he said.

“Hands down, that was the hardest. The elevation was so high — it was over 8,400 feet above sea level — and it was very difficult,” he said.

Twice, he ran two marathons in two days.

“I ran one on a Saturday and one on a Sunday. That was mainly for monetary and convenience sake,” he said.

Running in every state has provided him with some unforgettable experiences, he said, such as seeing a moose and her baby on the course in Anchorage, Ala., and running over the Golden Gate Bridge in the mist in San Francisco.

Mr. Ward didn’t run in high school and he wasn’t very strong in golf, the only sport he played. He ran when he was in middle school but didn’t have a desire to run track, adding that he was more interested in academics.

He grew up in southern Ohio and pursued engineering studies at Ohio University. He became interested in long-distance running while working as an engineer in 1994 in Parkersburg, W.Va.

“My boss and his wife had run in the London Marathon, and he was showing me pictures. I thought it looked interesting and I thought I’d look into it,” he said. He researched local 5-K events and soon was training for his first run at age 22.

“I came in third for my age group, so I was pretty happy. Of course, there were probably only three in my category. But we got these little trophies and I was hooked,” he said. He tried to get better and better.

“I would get up at the crack of dawn and run before work. I was energized and ready to work every day,” he said.

He continued running when he moved to Pittsburgh to pursue graduate degrees in engineering and teaching.

“I had started teaching a math course at a local community college one night a week and I really loved it. When I moved to Pittsburgh at the time, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, so I decided to get a degree in both,” he said.

Mr. Ward did his student teaching 13 years ago in McKeesport and was hired by the Shaler Area School District and found the career that he loves. He also kept running, found out about the 50 States Marathon Club and decided he wanted to become a member.

“After you have completed marathons in 10 different states, you can register, then they send you notices of marathons in each state,” he said.

Members of the club meet periodically at different places for reunions. Last year, Mr. Ward received an award from the club to recognize his achievement.

Now that he has run a marathon in every state, he is looking at other places to run.

“There is a marathon in Havana, Cuba, that I’ve had my eye on,” he said.

He often takes lessons he has learned from running into his classroom at Shaler Area High School.

“I tell my students that it is important to train and put the time and effort into your work — it is the same as studying and learning,” he said.

His students often ask him if he has won an event.

“I tell them that I’ve never come in first place, but that isn’t the point,” he said. “The point is to finish and do my best.”