Glen Carbon couple have run races in all 50 states

A Glen Carbon couple have reached their goal: He has run marathons and she has run half marathons in all 50 states.

Now, Jorge Garcia and his girlfriend, Paula Birke, are turning their attention to races in other countries.

“It’s a cool feeling,” said Paula, 38, a fitness instructor and lead financial analyst at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

“You have people from all walks of life out there running, and just to see the looks of accomplishment on their faces when they finish ... It’s exciting. It gives me goose bumps.”

In April, Jorge and Paula vacationed in Paris and Spain and ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll full and half-marathon in Madrid.

In May, Jorge traveled to Durban, South Africa, for the Comrades, an ultra-marathon of 56 miles (standard length is 26.2). That trip topped his list for best scenery.

“The mountains, the water, the animals ... It was so beautiful,” said Jorge, 42, a procurement analyst for Boeing in St. Louis. “It was so green.”

Paula’s best scenery was the Hawaiian island of Maui, although she veered from her usual half-marathon (13.1 miles) to join Jorge for the full, which was challenging.

Paula has two full and 58 half-marathons under her belt. A 2014 marathon in Little Rock, Ark., was her least favorite race.

“Every part of my body hurt,” Paula said. “It was freezing rain. It just wasn’t a pleasant experience. The after-party was fun.”

The toughest race for both Jorge and Paula was the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon in Colorado, also in 2014. The ascent was the half-marathon, which Paula ran.

“I use the word ‘running’ loosely because some of it was walking,” she said. “It was climbing, really. It took over five hours.”

Jorge conquered the ascent and descent. He fell when another runner lost balance and grabbed him. He was unconscious for five minutes but managed to complete the race.

Jorge’s best time ever was 3 hours and 9 minutes in the Last Chance BQ.2 marathon in Geneva, Ill., where volunteers served water at every turn.

“(Officials) made it easy from start to finish,” he said. “It was a flat course, on a bike trail, mostly shaded, and it was in the fall so the temperature was cooler.”

Paula and Jorge already were runners when they met at an SIUE boot-camp class 10 years ago. She grew up in rural Ruma. He’s from New Jersey.

Paula started running in 2000. She had earned an accounting degree from McKendree, landed a job with A.G. Edwards and moved back home with her parents.

“I weighed 150 pounds, and I wasn’t toned,” she said “I wasn’t eating healthy. I wasn’t exercising. I wasn’t fit. I wasn’t obese, but I was pudgy.”

Paula started running the 1.7 miles from her parents’ house to Ruma and eventually joined the YMCA in Red Bud.

She ran her first race, the Go St. Louis half-marathon, in 2005. She waited two years for the second and three more years for the third.

“I get burned out when I’m following a training schedule, when someone is telling me when to run and how long to run,” she said. “It kind of takes the fun out of it.”

Paula racked up most of her half-marathons in 2014 and 2015. That included two series, each with five races in five states in five days.

Paula’s fastest time was 1 hour and 50 minutes at the Front Porches half-marathon in Vermont last year. She reached her 50-state goal in May at Running with the Cows in Kansas.

“I kind of planned it that way,” she said. “I rearranged my scheduleto home and friends and family could come.”

Jorge was born in the United States to Guatemalan parents. He had a rough childhood, growing up in foster homes. His father went to prison for killing his mother.

Jorge started running as part of his Marine Corps training and continued while earning his international business degree at SIUE. He ran the Go St. Louis marathon in 2006.

“I was dying,” he said. “It was so hot. I made all the rookie mistakes. I wasn’t hydrated properly. I was not wearing the proper shoes or clothing. It was a really bad experience.”

Paula had challenged Jorge to enter the race. He finished the marathon in 4 hours and 14 minutes, exactly double her half-marathon time of 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Since that time, Jorge has completed 70 more marathons and five ultra-marathons (over 26.2 miles). He reached his 50-state goal last year on Long Island, N.Y.

“I love the joy of running,” said Jorge, who has two children. “And it gives me time to talk to my mom. I always carry a picture of her with me.”

Jorge often serves as a pacer in races. That’s someone hired by organizers to run at a certain pace, helping to guide others.

Jorge belongs to I Run 4 Michael, a non-profit organization that matches runners with disabled children and adults; and Team Red, White and Blue, which connects civilians with veterans.

Jorge was one of 10 finalists out of 1,600 entries in last year’s Runner’s World Cover Search. The magazine told of his difficult childhood and efforts to help those less fortunate.

“I know my mom is watching me from heaven,” Jorge is quoted as saying in the piece. “I tell her, ‘Thank you for giving me strength. I hope you are proud of me.’”

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Glen Carbon couple have run races in all 50 states."