BILLINGS — No matter the sport, collecting a medal typically feels pretty good. Imagine earning 94 medals like Patrick Joyce who just crossed the finish line in his 94th marathon.
At age 74, the Billings runner feels like he’s seen it all.
“From the Redwoods to the Green Mountains, I’ve just enjoyed this land so much,” Joyce said prior to running his most recent event.
He was referring to the beautiful Green Mountains in Vermont, where a week ago Sunday he achieved one of his most fulfilling finishes — clocking a marathon time in all 50 states.
As the public address announcer counted down, “Four, three, two, one ... ", off Joyce went, this time along a trail trotting toward animals and approaching volunteers.
“You’re running faster than I am,” one volunteer could be heard saying at a check point.
For those not familiar, a marathon distance is 26.2 miles. And to think Joyce has done it 94 times? It would’ve been easy to run out of gas without his gallery.
“Especially my family. They’re my coaches, they’re my team, they’re my cheerleaders,” he said after the Vermont race.
Within his gauntlet achievement, Joyce has run two New York City marathons and four in Boston, his favorite. And with every medal comes a story.
But recently finishing in his 50th state was additionally inspiring.
“For me, it feels really that I’m complete,” Joyce said.
And not just as a runner. Joyce said he plans on giving his collection of medals to his kids and grand kids as motivation.
"To get off that couch and enjoy the outdoors. To be able to be outdoors, that’s all," he said.
If you’re wondering what race may be left for Joyce, hopefully, he said, the big one that started it all.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to run the original in Athens (Greece). The marathon to Athens is, of course, where Pheidippides ran and announced that the Persians were coming to the Greeks, and then fell dead. And that’s how we got 26.2 (miles)," he said.
The great distance race. Patrick Joyce continues proving it’s not a sprint — it’s indeed a marathon.
