Ashley Ahner ran her first half-marathon in high school in 2005 in her hometown of St. Louis.
Five years later, as an Auburn student, she ran her second in Orlando.
That fall, while Auburn was rolling toward the national championship, Ashley started grad school and began kicking around the idea of a big goal: 50 half-marathons in 50 states.
Despite working two jobs and taking a full load of MBA courses at Auburn, she planned and she ran.
Three half-marathons in 2011. Seven more states in 2012. Nine 13.1’s, including Alaska, in 2013, 14 in ’14, and 13 in 2015.