50 States Half Marathon Club member Cris Schenk, from Gardena, California, joined the club in 2015. Cris finished the 50 States Endurance Challenge (a combination of half marathons and marathons in all 50 states), in 2018. Cris now just finished his 200th half marathon in 2019.

Here is a little inspiration from Cris regarding what led Cris to the club, his experience and his journey, in his own words:

What inspired Cris to join the journey?

"I found out that a fellow I worked with ran the LA Marathon in 2010 and he totally didn't look like a guy who could run that far. I talked to him about it and a bunch of coworkers started running after work."

Cris's experience with the club and throughout his journey:

"Joining the 50 States Half Marathon Club has been the best social experience of my life. I have met so many wonderful people and made some long-lasting close friendships. I didn't plan to finish the journey so fast but seeing how much fun everyone was having at the races encouraged me to get out and complete the journey."

Inspiration for members working on their journey, or considering joining the journey, from Cris:

"Advice I always give to people is to try and make as many states "bucket list" races as you can. I did several races that were less than the best races just to check off the state and wish I had chosen a better race in those states. Also put your name on the upcoming race list and try and meet as many members as you can. Also please post pictures of your races. I love seeing people's posts smiling with their medals."