At the Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon in Florida Feb. 14, Clearview Elementary Physical Education teacher George Bienusa crossed the finish line. Doing so signaled the completion of a journey begun 14 years ago, to run a marathon in all 50 states.

 

In Dec. 2001, Bienusa went to the doctor for a checkup and discovered he weighed 199 pounds, too much for someone 5’ 5”.

 

Obesity runs in his family, and as a physical education teacher he realized he needed to be a better role model for his students. 

 

 “It was a real eye-opener,” said Bienusa, “I knew I needed to change my lifestyle and decided I was going to train for Grandma’s Marathon.”

 

Having run track and cross-country in high school, he thought training would be easy. He couldn’t make it one block.

 

“It was a long process,” Bienusa admitted. “Like I tell the kids (students), you don’t have to go fast, just do it. You have to start somewhere.” 

 

He persevered, and on June 22, 2002, weighing 45 pounds less than he had that day in December, he ran in Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. It wasn’t effortless; by mile 23 he was so out of it he was hallucinating. They wanted to pull him out but he refused, finishing the race in three hours, 49 minutes.

 

Completing a marathon in all 50 states wasn’t something Bienusa originally set out to do; his plan had been to only run one race. However after Grandma’s Marathon he decided to keep going, and over the next few years his goal was just to keep improving in each marathon he raced in.

 

He joined the St. Cloud River Runners in 2005 and began going on road trips with other members to races out of state. The group started talking about completing marathons in all 50 states.

 

“That’s how I got the bug,” said Bienusa, “I started focusing on the 50 states in 2007.”

 

He had no particular order to the states he raced in, much of the time he would just go wherever the group of people he was running with were going.

 

During a normal week of training Bienusa would run 50 to 60 miles, varying his running routine for better strength and stamina, and getting up at 3:45 a.m. on weekdays. 

 

When he had crossed off around 40 states he began thinking about where he wanted to complete his goal. He decided on Florida partly because he wanted to go there in the middle of winter.

 

The Feb. 14, 2016 Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon started out at 60 degrees with extremely strong winds. Bienusa accomplished his goal in 3 hours, 32 minutes, his fastest time in threeyears.

 

He finished 83rd out of 750 competitors, and although it was the race that completed his 50 states, it was actually his 80th marathon.

 

Bienusa’s Clearview Elementary students have been with him on his journey since 2008, the year he started teaching there. Art teacher Kathy Gerdts-Senger created a United States map so students could watch his progress, coloring in another state each time he came back from a marathon. Previous students come back and ask him, ‘Did you finish the states yet?’

 

“I turn the marathons into teaching moments for the kids,” said Bienusa. “I bring in my medals, show them pictures, talk about the different states and what I see and experience in each. I want the students to realize that you can have fun and you can achieve your goals. I think it’s inspiring to them.”

 

One of Bienusa’s greatest moments racing was at a Nisswa marathon in April 2008. There was a blizzard so he couldn’t see anything and he had icicles hanging everywhere. He won the marathon, the first, and to date only, time he’s done so.

 

Another memorable marathon occurred in 2006 in Brookings, SD , where he raced his personal best to date, 3:04:27.

 

He’s enjoyed all the marathons he’s competed in, however a few stand out. His mom and sister came to cheer him on when he raced the Boston Marathon, and he and his wife celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in Alaska where he was racing.

 

Another race he really liked was the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon in Washington. 

 

“The scenery was amazing. The race followed an old railroad bed in the mountains, and it passed along a bridge over a deep ravine, by waterfalls and people rock climbing. The best part was half-way through the race there was a three mile long tunnel in which you could barely see a pinpoint of light at the end of.” 

 

Now that he’s reached his goal of completing a marathon in all 50 states, Bienusa has a new one, to complete 100 marathons. 

 

“I’m still young enough, it keeps me in shape and my heart strong, and I can eat whatever I want to,” he said, smiling. “I burn off the calories because I’m running.”

 

What began as a way to lose weight and become healthier has turned Bienusa into a role model for his students and an inspiration to everyone. There’s no doubt he’ll achieve his next aspiration.