In early 2016, John Coleman of Decatur, Georgia, met a local runner who completed a major feat: running a race in every state in the country. All 50 of them.

“It sounded like so much fun,” recalled Coleman’s wife, Ashley, who had recently taken up running.

But reality check: “Logistically, we had small children, and well, that wasn’t going to happen.”

So the couple came up with an alternative plan that would still take the family on an awe-inspiring, running adventure exploring new places with natural beauty, fascinating history and regional treats.

It would just all be closer to home.

The Colemans would run a race in every county in Georgia. All 159 of them. They recently reached their 101st county with Walton County’s “Good Hope Coffee Run.”

Starting their journey in the spring of 2016, the races have taken the family to an American Indian mound site in Early County, the Monastery of the Holy Spirt in Rockdale County, and the Okefenokee Swamp in Charlton County.

They’ve enjoyed small-town festivals you can only find in Georgia: a wild chicken festival in Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County; a grits festival in Worth County; a strawberry festival in Taylor County and a Vidalia onion festival in Toombs County.

All the while, the family bonded while running and visiting yet another swath of the state, ranging from majestic Blue Ridge Mountains to miles of coastline to wildlife sanctuaries. They also ran along the Providence Canyon in Stewart County – county No. 42.

Running mostly 5K races (3.1 miles long), they’ve won multiple medals, not to mention other prizes with a local flavor: a bag of Vidalia onions (Toombs County), a bottle of cane syrup (Decatur County), a piece of handmade pottery (Crawford County) and a Santa Claus bobblehead (Hall County).

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