Mesquite man runs wild

A marathon is one of the most physically taxing foot races in existence.

It’s something that people train up to a year in preparation for and even after molding their body to withstand the nature of the 26.2-mile march of attrition, the sense of achievement for most ends with that one completed race.

When Mesquite native and the city’s Director of Human Resources George Mones ran his first marathon in New Orleans, La., in 1983, that feeling of triumph was alive and well.

Yet, it has blossomed into something much more.

An accomplishment over two decades in the making came full circle this month in Indianapolis, Ind., as Mones completed the Indianapolis Marathon and achieved his goal of running a marathon in all 50 states.

“It’s very emotional for me,” Mones said. “It’s special because my family was there and with all of them together, they haven’t seen me run a marathon since Dallas White Rock (in 2002). I enjoy sharing the moment with them.”

A member of the 50 States Marathon Club, Mones is among just over 450 people who have completed the nationwide feat and the journey towards this goal began with a little can-do attitude and a T-shirt.

“When I ran [the New York Marathon] in 2002,” Mones said, “I saw some people that had T-shirts for the 50 States club. On the back, it listed all the states and when you run one, you mark it off.

“I thought that was pretty cool and they said to join, you had to run 10 states and I thought ‘hey, that’s something I can do.’”

At first, the intrigue for Mones wasn’t so much about running all 50 states, but just being able to join the club, which came to fruition following a marathon in Memphis, Tenn.

Forty states later, Mones now awaits a new T-shirt for his completion of running all 50 states and a trophy for his efforts.

Balancing the mara-

thons with a family and city government duties is a taxing habit in its own. Just training for a marathon occupies anywhere from six to 12 months, but Mones capitalized on some good health and conditioning to speed up the process.

“I ran New York in November,” Mones said. “I figured I was in shape and then [Dallas] White Rock came up in December and I figured why not stay in shape by doing White Rock.

“The reality is when you’re doing marathons every month or two, you’re staying in top shape and it’s not real difficult to stay in shape by continuing to run successive marathons.”

The luxury of having a wife who works for Delta Airlines didn’t hurt securing travel arrangements either, and the state-to-state grind was draining in its own right.

“When you have a job and a family, it takes a lot of advanced planning,” Mones said. “…Immed-

iately after the race, I usually have to hustle to the car and to the airport to catch the plane to come back. You’re just in and out.”

In 50 marathons, the experience and conditions differ from state to state. The sentimental significance of the marathons in Louisiana and Indiana bear strong meaning in their own right, but weather and terrain played no role in one of Mones’ favorites.

In fact, just qualifying to compete was an honor.

“I never thought that I would qualify for [the Boston Marathon],” Mones said. “In order to run Boston, they have strict rules where based on your age, you have a qualifying time. You have to run a qualifying marathon under that time to compete.”

It wasn’t until last year when Mones turned 60 that he managed to best the qualifying mark by three minutes.

“[Boston] was a fabulous experience,” he said.

Mones has overcome years of hectic traveling, timing and weather to get to last Saturday and finishing his quest in the Midwest was hardly a coincidence, citing his daughter’s recent move to Indianapolis as reason for wanting to finish there.

It had been nearly seven years since Mones had that much family support in attendance for a marathon and now that all 50 states have been marked off, he’s not ready to call it quits anytime soon.

“A lot of the people in the club do Canadian provinces,” Mones said. “Of course, there’s [Wally Herman] who has finished all 50 states and started running in other countries. He’s done 99 marathons.”

The possibilities are endless, from Herman’s worldwide tour de force to Larry Macon’s Guinness World Record of 105 marathons run during 2008. With those kinds of skins on the wall for his fellow club members, the last few years have provided no shortage of memorable experiences and encounters for Mones.

“There’s amazing people that I meet in the club who have amazing stories,” he said. “Some didn’t start running until they were in their 50s. They’ve accomplished amazing things.”

If nothing else, the marathon has given Mones a fervent outlet for staying in shape. Fifty marathons is obviously a daunting task for some and a difficult achievement to attain, but Mones said simply running one marathon is far from rocket science.

“People always say ‘wow, you do marathons. I could never do that,’” he said. “The truth is, anybody can do it. Anybody can do it.

“It doesn’t take a genius to put one foot in front of the other and just keep going.”

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