Andrea Peet just completed her 48th marathon. It's an incredible accomplishment, but she still has more races ahead of her. That's because Andrea set out on a goal of competing in 50 marathons — one in every state.
But Andrea's story is actually much more inspiring that just competing in a lot of races. In 2014, at 33 years old, she was the picture of health. She had recently finished a half-Ironman competition, but she began tripping over her own feet.
Just months later, she needed a cane to walk.
Andrea was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Over the five years that followed, she learned to cope with the degenerative illness. But eventually, she wanted to do more than that. She wanted to start living her life again.
Always the athlete, Andrea made a new goal: compete in 50 marathons in a recumbent tricycle. She's almost reached her goal, and in the process, she's raised more than $700,000 for ALS research.
"I really actually never thought I would be here," she told KPIX San Francisco of the accomplishment. "It was just a way to say, am I going to live my life and not be afraid of what's coming?"
That's just what she's doing, she says. "I'm just living. I'm living as fully as I can."
