A father-daughter duo from Massachusetts surpassed a notable milestone when they completed the Maui Oceanfront Marathon this past January. That alone would be a triumphant feat for most, but Beth and Scott Lennox are not like most runners—each has now completed a marathon in every state, and crossing the finish line together in Hawaii marked their respective final state.
Even more surprising is that Scott, 76, didn’t start running marathons until he was 50, with Beth joining him shortly after.
"I almost get choked up when I think about it,” Scott told WCVB in Boston. “It was right at the time that I had actually put on a bunch of weight. My doctor," he said, ‘Look, all your signs are going in the wrong direction. You have got to do something about it.’"
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Scott says that despite living in Hopkinton, where the iconic Boston Marathon begins, and working for longtime race sponsor John Hancock, he had no interest in long-distance running until a coworker encouraged him to run the race with her. After that, the idea of running in his hometown marathon finally crossed his mind—though he admits it was a tough start.
"She was like my worst nightmare,” he told WCVB. “She just would not let it go. She said, ‘You've got to train with me,’ and in fact, over eight months, I lost 50 pounds, and we ran 2003 together."
Beth immediately noticed the change. “He instantaneously seemed younger," she said. Scott became a Boston regular, taking pride in preparing for each race. It wasn’t long after that Beth hit the road alongside him.
“I loved cheering him on at the races. I never envisioned it would be me out there as well," she told WCVB. She said she had previously not paid much attention to her health and fitness before seeing her dad run but that his transformation was an inspiration.
After retiring at 64, Scott began running marathons in each state, completing as many as eight races a year. To complete their 50th together, Beth had some catching up to do, but she ran 16 marathons in 15 months to ensure they could cross the final finish line together.
Scott and Beth cherish their time running together and eagerly anticipate further memories, knowing they will be there for one another. "Sometimes he's carrying me, and sometimes I'm carrying him,” she said. “But we both get there."
"We've just had fun,” Scott added. “There's always some aspect of every marathon that we've done where we've had a really good time."
Since that first marathon, Scott has now run a total of 79 marathons, including all the World Majors and 17 Bostons.
So what’s next for Scott? He’s currently gearing up for his 18th Boston Marathon, marking his 80th marathon in total—and he’s hoping to complete this one with the friend that initially sparked his love of running.
“It's my 20th anniversary, and she is running with me," he said.
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
