"I participated in track and cross-country in school, so I've always been a runner, but in 2003 I started training for my first marathon. My Grandma Bert, to whom I was very close, had suffered a stroke, so I raised $3000 for the American Stroke Association and and ran that first race in her honor. It was held in Hawaii and was just a great experience. Cool, beautiful, and right by the ocean. The next year I ran in Memphis in the St. Jude Marathon. I've never had a family member hospitalized there, but it was a great feeling knowing that the funds I raised were going to help these kids. So many friends came out to support and cheer me on along the way, and that meant a lot to me. When we passed by the hospital on the day of the race, there were crowds of people out front shouting 'Thank you!', giving us high-fives, and holding signs with their children's names on them. St. Jude is an amazing place, and I'm proud to help support it.
"Since 2003, I've helped train many other runners and have completed marathons in 49 states. On June 21, I'll run in Anchorage, Alaska, which means I'll have done all 50. At some point, I thought, 'I'm doing the states---Why not all the continents too?', so I signed up with Marathon Tours & Travel and am now in the process of completing a marathon on every continent. So far, I've done North America, Australia, South America, Asia, and in March of this year, I completed a marathon in Antarctica. I only have Europe and Africa to go. Through running, I'm met and made friends with people from all over the world.
"Running is how I relieve stress and cope with grief. When I lost Grandma Bert and then Papa (my grandfather on the other side) within weeks of each other in 2005, running got me through. Grandma Bert loved that I was a runner, so I said to myself, 'I'm going to run a marathon in every state for her."
"Since 2003, I've helped train many other runners and have completed marathons in 49 states. On June 21, I'll run in Anchorage, Alaska, which means I'll have done all 50. At some point, I thought, 'I'm doing the states---Why not all the continents too?', so I signed up with Marathon Tours & Travel and am now in the process of completing a marathon on every continent. So far, I've done North America, Australia, South America, Asia, and in March of this year, I completed a marathon in Antarctica. I only have Europe and Africa to go. Through running, I'm met and made friends with people from all over the world.
"Running is how I relieve stress and cope with grief. When I lost Grandma Bert and then Papa (my grandfather on the other side) within weeks of each other in 2005, running got me through. Grandma Bert loved that I was a runner, so I said to myself, 'I'm going to run a marathon in every state for her."
Antarctica Marathon photos, courtesy of Anntriniece:
Dr. Anntriniece Napper is a second-grade teacher at Cromwell Elementary School. As of May 10, 2015, she has completed 62 marathons, including three of the 6 Majors:
- Chicago (check)
- New York (check)
- Tokyo (check)
- London
- Berlin
- Boston
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