Lawton native runs marathon in all 50 states, going international

When she started running, Catherine Buckley hated it.

Her volleyball coach, Misty Mason, made the team run for 5 minutes before the start of every practice. In the beginning, Buckley could only run for one minute straight.

“I had never run before, and I hated it. But I really started liking those five minutes because when I started, I could only run for one minute straight, and then I could for five minutes straight. It was one of those things where I could see the progress.”

Buckley kept up with running throughout high school with quick, small distances. When she went to college, she found that she needed an outlet to stay in shape, so she kept running a couple of miles at a time.

“When I was in college, I marched in the Pride at OU. That was my only exercise basically. I needed something on the side to keep up with staying in shape.”

Then, her college friends decided that a 5K was in order. After that accomplishment, Buckley decided to go for a 10K. A 10K turned into a half marathon, which progressed to a full marathon in her senior year of college.

After her accomplishment of completing a marathon, and close to her college days ending, Buckley found herself once again seeking a hobby.

“I was getting really close to graduating college, and I didn’t know what was next. I knew I would start teaching, that was a given, but I didn’t have an outlet. I saw online that there was a club of people who were running marathons in all 50 states. I just thought ‘how hard could it be?’”

When a friend brought up the idea of traveling for runs, Buckley found that it was a perfect goal.

Her favorite of the 50 was St. George, Utah.

“The scenery was always great in the western states. Running through the canyons and mountains.”

While accomplishing her athletic feats, running has also become a tremendous part of her personal life. Buckley met her husband while running with a group in Oklahoma City.

Through her running, her endurance has grown with teaching and in life.

“Running has always been a great outlet on bad days. Just knowing that, even if things aren’t going as well as I’d planned, if I go for a run I can clear my head and think through everything,” said Buckley

The running community she’s found is one of Buckley’s greatest motivators as well. She runs with three different groups:

“It’s been one of the most empowering parts of it – meeting people with the same goals or similar goals.”

In 2022, she joined a group called Wahoo!, a running group based in Norman, where she met her husband, Jeff Beck.

“It’s been great to have that support and have people who will meet me at 5 a.m. for runs on cold mornings, and that’s what gets you out of bed. Those people have become some of my best friends over the last few years.”

Up next for Buckley is the majors. There are seven marathons around the world — Tokyo, Boston, Sydney, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

Buckley has already completed Chicago and New York, and now she’s focused on cutting off 13 minutes from her personal best to qualify for the Boston marathon.

Running through her head while running the course, Buckley says, is learning how to face her challenges despite freezing temperatures, extreme heat, or courses closing during the race.

“The first time I ran Vermont it got canceled when I was at mile 20 due to extreme heat. It was 85 degrees with 100% humidity. Every marathon presents a different challenge, so facing those challenges and figuring out where my strength is the fun part. It’s where I’ve shown growth” she said.

Buckley says her greatest motivator is knowing that she must get herself to the finish line.

“I’ve done it before and I can do it again.” She said.