SYLVANIA, Ohio — On a July weekend in Sylvania, dozens of friends and family gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of sisters Katie Schohn and Peggy Manning.
The 48-year old twins from Chelsea, Michigan recently completed the impressive feat of running 50 half marathons in each of the 50 states before turning 50 years of age.
"The support that's behind us, our friends and our family are all here supporting us. It's just surreal," Schohn said.
The two didn't describe themselves as athletes in school, but say they began running about a decade ago, and after four years of completing half marathons, decided they wanted a new challenge.
"We were in Martha's Vineyard running a half-marathon. There were a bunch of people getting their picture taken [at the finish line], and we wondered 'what's this?' They're like 'oh, we run half marathons in all 50 states, and we looked at each other," Manning said.
"We're like 'we can do that!'"
Schohn and Manning set out to complete 50 half marathons; one in each of the 50 states before the age of 50, which at the time they started, gave them less than seven years to finish it. The two drove to nearby states, and flew to further states. Sometimes, the two would complete half marathons in adjacent states within days of each other, completing races in places like California, Oregon, and Washington in a short timeframe.
Coordinating this project wasn't always easy, with Katie living in Sylvania, and Peggy having moved to a town outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
"We're so close," Schohn said. "I mean it killed me when [Peggy] moved to Tennessee, but we see each other as much as possible. We talk on the phone nearly every day, couple of times every day."
Just over four years later, the twins had one more race, in one more state to complete the map: Alaska. However, the pair's final race in the journey would come with another challenge for Katie.
Schohn's husband Dave was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in May, and was put on a regular treatment schedule which limited how long she could be in each state.
In June, the two traveled to Alaska, while Katie's husband cheered them on back home.
"It was emotional. I didn't want to leave him," Schohn said. "The whole time I was there, I was thinking about how he was feeling and what he was doing. But I was with her, and that was most important, and we got it done."
With a time of three hours and 17 minutes, Katie and Peggy crossed the finish line, and crossed their last state off the map.
"It seemed really unreachable when we decided we'd do it five years ago," Schohn said.
Despite all the medals, Katie and Peggy say the real reward was the friends they made along the way, and the family supporting them.
"We have friends in almost all 50 states now," Manning said. "We're the infamous twins. Everyone knows us as the twins."
The twins don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Individually, Peggy has completed two full marathons and 96 half marathons, and already has plans in place to reach 100. Katie has completed 82 half marathons individually. She says with her husband's diagnosis, it may take her more time to reach 100, but she plans on eclipsing that number too.
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