Life is a marathon; walk it
The front entrance of Bonnie Sandford's Coeur d'Alene home is adorned with dozens of medals signifying her completion of nine full and 70 half marathons throughout the United States. (MADISON HARDY/Press)
Bonnie Sandford's two sons, Don, left, and Doug celebrated Bonnie's 80th birthday Monday morning by walking the last five miles of a virtual half marathon event. (MADISON HARDY/Press)
Bonnie Sandford spent the morning of her 80th birthday celebrating a milestone achievement — completing her 70th half marathon.
The Coeur d'Alene resident's athletic resume doesn't stop there.
The dynamite woman whose smile doesn't fade even after a 13.1-mile walk in the middle of July, also has completed nine full marathons and several other multi-mile events.
Sandford said it all started 15 years ago when she and a friend went on vacation in Victoria, Canada. There they witnessed a marathon in person.
"I told her, 'I want to do that," Sandford said. "I started walking with some groups, and one thing led to another."
Sandford doesn't run these races; she walks, and she loves it.
"I have never liked running," she said with a laugh. "I've tried to mix it up, but I just don't enjoy it."
Sandford got involved with a group called "Mainly Marathons" who raced all over the U.S., participating in a series of events over five to seven days. Sandford said her biggest accomplishment was two years ago, when she completed 12 half marathons in 12 days in 11 East Coast states.
"It was the easiest thing I've ever done because I trained for it," Sandford said. "I walked 10 miles every day for two or three months before that, so when I got there, it was just a piece of cake."
Not all of them have been so easy.
Sandford said her craziest story was in New Mexico when she got locked in a Porta-Potty and almost had to tip it over to escape.
Then there was her least favorite, a full marathon in Seattle, where she spent hours trying to find the starting line, and temperatures were in the mid-90s.
"We were walking on the freeway, and it was hot. I was thinking, 'Oh, tell me I'm too slow and take me away.' Then at the end, it was 3 miles uphill," Sandford said. "The only good thing was when I was crossing the bridge, some guy was driving the other way, and he threw me a long-stem rose."
Since beginning her marathon career, Sandford set a goal to race in all 50 American states. Unfortunately, the last eight on her list — Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma — have been virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Monday marked the last state on Sandford's list, Alaska.
"I had always hoped to do my 50th state in Alaska on my 80th birthday," she said. "It is all working out that I can do an Alaska virtual here on my birthday and have my two sons to finish with me."
To beat the Monday heat, forecast for 93 degrees, Sandford started her half marathon trek at 5 a.m. Following a route around Lake Coeur d'Alene, Sandford headed toward Higgens Point, where sons Donald and Doug joined her to walk the last 5 miles back to McEuen Park. By the time the Sandfords reached the McEuen Park Pavillion at 9:40 a.m., they were ready for breakfast.
To keep in shape, she walks anywhere from 5 to 10 miles a day. If she's preparing for a marathon, she can walk 20 miles or more. Though Sandford said she used to be faster, the marathon walker still maintains a 15-minute mile.
Leading up to Monday, Sandford said she logged 12 miles every day, making the half marathon quite literally a walk in the park.
Both boys have participated in a race with their mother. Don walked the Coeur d'Alene half marathon two years ago. Doug competed in the Rock' n' Roll Marathon in San Diego — something he said he would never attempt again.
"I just about died and got a heat stroke," Doug said, laughing. "At mile 22, I hit a wall, and I looked over, and she was unfazed. I had trained for it too. Walking is a different stride. It took seven-plus hours and just beat me up."
Don and Doug couldn't be more amazed by their mother, who they said is an inspiration in their families' lives.
"She can do anything, and that is a mindset I subscribe to for my kids. I have two boys, and I tell them that you can do anything you set your mind to," Don said. "I know she subscribed to that too. She's a Christian woman who has a lot of faith that I will never question."
COVID-19 may have forced Sandford to complete her goal virtually, but she plans to compete in person as states reopen. Up first is a Kentucky marathon tentatively set in April 2022, and Sandford said she's looking for someone who has never competed in an event to do it with her.
"People can do it," she said. "They just don't think they can."
