Running one marathon is a bucket-list item. Completing 50 marathons before turning 50 is an arduous task that few would even think to attempt.
But Phil Lang, a 47-year-old Columbia resident, not only set out on the journey 30 years ago, but decided to set the bar even higher. He aimed to finish each marathon, all 26.2 miles, in under three hours.
Was Lang's goal crazy?
"I've asked myself that for sure," said Lang, who caught the running bug when he was in high school at Oakland Mills.
The 50-by-50 seed was planted during training runs with older members of the Howard County Striders.
"When I was a young person, Joe Wasserman and Dave Tripp and all of those guys were out there showing the way and showing me that running wasn't just a high school sport," Lang said. "Running beyond high school and college was something to be considered, and I did."
Wasserman was in his upper 40s when he decided he was going to run 50 marathons. The idea stuck with Lang and it has taken him three decades to complete what had become a burden.
"Every day it goes on, it has become more stressful for me."
This past Saturday's Baltimore Marathon was Lang's 50th and last.
"I will never run another marathon. This is it," he said.
He finished 37th overall, just missing his under-three-hour goal with a time of 3 hours, 4 minutes, 55 seconds. His effort was good enough for second in his age group.
Lang finished just a second behind Dave Tripp's son Jason, who was 36th in 3:04:54.
Placing fourth, Stephen Olenick (2:42:24) was the top male finisher from Howard County. Alex Wang, of Ellicott City, won the women's race in 2:58:41.
More than 2,700 runners took part in the marathon, which starts and ends in downtown Baltimore. The entire Baltimore Running Festival, including a half-marathon, a team relay, a 5K and a kids' fun run, drew 27,000 participants.
Lang's first marathon attempt, the Maryland Marathon, came at the end of the cross country season his senior year in high school. It wasn't pretty.
"This stupid goal of mine nearly got derailed right out of the gate," Lang said.
The wickedly steep Satyr Hill Road in the Parkville area of Baltimore County was the make-or-break point of the Maryland Marathon. Three days before the race, Lang had three wisdom teeth pulled and, by the time he stepped to the start line, he didn't have much gas in his tank.
"By the halfway mark, I knew I was in trouble," he said. "I was done before I got to the bottom of Satyr Hill."
Unfortunately, Lang's father parked his car at the top of the hill so Lang had to walk up the steep hill to catch his ride home.
He completed his first marathon, the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, his junior year in college.
He didn't run another marathon until he got out of college, but when he did, his time qualified him for the fabled Boston Marathon.
"That's when I fell in love with the marathon," Lang said. "The Boston Marathon is like you are at the Super Bowl."
He has done 18 Bostons, including his farewell Boston this spring.
"This year it wasn't going as well as I hoped but instead of putting my head down and pouting with a bad attitude, I looked around and kind of smelled the roses a little bit," he said.
Maybe the 2014 Boston race and Saturday's Baltimore Marathon weren't up to Lang's sub-3-hour personal benchmark, but he has run 2:50-something 25 times.
"God did not bless me with the ability to run 2:30, but I've been very consistent. A lot of people try to run just one sub-3-hour marathon."
One good reason to take a break is that the injuries and miles are adding up. "I don't recover as fast as I used to and I have more aches and pains than I used to."
In marathons alone, Lang has run 1,310 miles. With the exception of a few miles run in Canada, all of his marathons have been in the United States and most have been on the East Coast.
Lang and his wife, Vicki, coach the Oakland Mills cross country teams. Phil also coaches the Junior Striders and has his own running business, Bullseye Running.
Now that he has completed 50 marathons, he plans to take a break to allow his body to recover. Then he'll find some other ways to have fun and challenge himself.
"Maybe I'll run an ultra marathon. The JFK 50 Miler is in Maryland," Lang said. "That's a historic event and a massive event. I certainly have had that on my list of things to consider."