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Missouri mom turns running from hobby into making history

“I was the 10th female that I’m aware of that did the 50 marathons with a Boston Qualifying time"

KIRKWOOD, Mo. — For some people, running is a hobby, or a way of staying physically fit. But for one Kirkwood mother, it’s far more than that.

As a wife and mother of two boys, Sadie Smith started running as a hobby with friends as a way to stay healthy and spend quality time outside of her home.

“And I just fell in love with it,” Smith said. “Fell in love with distance running. And I signed up for a half-marathon when my youngest was about 18 months old, and thought it was amazing. And then my husband and I decided to run a marathon.”

Smith finished that first marathon in 2015 with a time that qualified her for the prestigious Boston Marathon. But she then set a goal to train even harder to complete an even larger personal challenge.

“And then around the same time, my husband worked with a man who was doing all 50 states,” Smith said. “And he came home one day after I think we both ran our first marathon, and was like, ‘Hey, what do you think of this idea?’ And it took us about 30 seconds to decide that would be a great idea.”

Smith began running in at least one Boston Qualifying Marathon in a different state across the country each month, with the goal of completing the 26.2-mile race in all 50.

To qualify for the Boston Marathon as a female of her age, Smith would need to complete the marathon under three hours and 40 minutes.

“It was really just me out there for three-and-a-half hours by myself,” Smith said. “And that’s really what I love about the sport. It’s just something that you challenge yourself to do, and at the end of the day, it’s just you.”

The Smiths turned the travel to certain marathons into a family trip, but Sadie said each weekend vacation to run a marathon became the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with her husband. The married couple traveled to each state together, although she ran most of them alone as he cheered her on.

After four-and-a-half years, Smith checked off 49 states from her list. She saved her hometown state of Missouri for last and wanted to give back to the Kirkwood community as part of the final push.

Credit: Sadie Smith

In honor of her last Boston Qualifying state finish, Smith set the goal to raise $10,000 in honor of her 10,000 miles of pounding the pavement. The money would be donated to the Kirkwood Area Every Child Promise non-profit, which strives to ensure every child in Kirkwood is prepared for success when they enter kindergarten through financial means and special resources.

Smith raised $6,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She chose to end the fundraiser at that point and donate the money she had raised.

She registered for two Boston Qualifying marathons in the St. Louis area, but both were canceled due to the pandemic. After months of waiting for an opportunity, she was able to register for a marathon in Columbia, Missouri.

In September, nearly five years setting her goal, Smith completed her 50th Boston Qualifying state finish, and she made history as she crossed the finish line.

“I was the 10th female that I’m aware of that did the 50 marathons with a Boston Qualifying time,” Smith said. “And to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t a female yet who has done them all under three-and-a-half hours. And so, I have 20 more states to go until I can say that. I don’t know if I’ll be the first, but I’ll be one of the first. So, the next goal is to re-run some of those states that I missed that time in.”

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