April 1 (UPI) — A Texas woman who has run 999 marathons said she expects to hit 1,000 this weekend, and become the first U.S. woman to do so.
Angela Tortorice of Dallas said she never expected to become a serial marathon runner when she ran her very first race.
“I’ll never do this again,” she recalled thinking to WFAA-TV.
Tortorice ended up changing her mind, and in 2013 broke a Guinness World Record by running 129 marathons in a single year.
“My vacation time is used for marathoning,” Tortorice said. “It’s not used for anything else.”
Tortorice, who has run at least five marathons in every U.S. state, said she will run her 1,000th race this weekend at the Irving Marathon in Texas. Completing the race would make her the first U.S. woman to reach the milestone number of marathons.
Tortorice’s marathon running has thus far raised over $1 million for research into multiple sclerosis.
“When I started running it was around the time my former husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and so I thought, I’ve got to do something to benefit my health,” Tortorice said. “It does just help you cope so much through difficult times.”
She said she does not intend to stop running marathons after crossing her 1,000th finish line. The runner said her marathon habit is about more than merely breaking records.
“Half of the running is the camaraderie, the people you meet along the way,” Tortorice told KXAS-TV. “If anything, it just helps you with your sanity during difficult times.”
