At 73 years old, Salem resident Jerry Korson is celebrating his most recent run: a half marathon in New York City. This marks the final race in a series that the elderly man has been trying to complete since 2004. His goal was to run a half marathon in every single state, and New York was the last one left on the list! Now, his map at home is decorated with pins in all 50 states to mark his accomplishment.
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Of course, there were several setbacks that forced Jerry to postpone his travels over the years. For one thing, he wasn’t able to run any half marathons during the pandemic. For another, both he and his wife were also diagnosed with cancer. Jerry even had doubts about whether he would be able to keep running after his brain surgery in 2022, as he explaind to KGW.
“I had brain surgery in November of ’22,” he said. “That put a stop on everything. You don’t how you’re going to come out — if you’re going to come out. At that time, I still had five races left.”
Jerry wanted to run a half marathon in each state, and now he finally has!
Despite his worries, this ambitious man was able to run the last five half marathons on his list. Even though it wasn’t within the time frame he was hoping for, he’s still proud of reaching his goal! However, this also means he has a lot more free time on his hands. While he definitely still hopes to remain active, Jeff does not want to run another half marathon any time soon! He does plan to travel more, though.
“It’s regrettable because for so long, every vacation or trip that we planned included a run or two,” he said. “Now, we’re able to go wherever and whenever and for whatever.”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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