Meet The Youngest Person To Run Half Marathons In All 50 States Of US

Cheered on by a crowd of family and friends along with members of the Half Marathon Club, an 11-year-old Aiden Jaquez ran towards the finish line on Sunday at the Des Moines Half Marathon in Iowa, breaking the record for the youngest person to run half marathons in all 50 states in the U.S.

Jaquez’s desire to own a shiny medal like the one his grandmother Kathleen Taylor received, after finishing a race, proved to be his inspiration to start running half marathons.

He ran his first half marathon at the age of 6 in Sarasota, Florida, along with his grandmother.

In the beginning, the grandmother-grandson duo set a goal to run half marathons in all 50 states in the U.S. However, Jaquez doubled down on his goal when he realized he could be the youngest to do so.

"When I was 6 years old, my grandma was running in Florida, and there was a cool medal. So I begged her and begged her if I could run a half marathon, and she finally said yes. We found out not too long after that that there was a record. I'm just happy I finished it," Aiden told CNN.

In 2015, when he was 7-years-old, Jaquez, who is from Montgomery, Illinois, joined the 50 States Half Marathon Club, in order to pursue his goal.

On Sunday, both Taylor and Jaquez completed their goal, when they crossed the finish line in Iowa, possibly setting a world record while doing so.

"I love running half marathons because not many kids in my age do it and it's fun to run and just get a lot of energy out and run with my grandma. I find it easier to fun long-distance for me because if I run short-distance, I try to run too fast," Aiden said.

The record is yet to be officially verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. The chance to be featured in the Guinness Book of World Records gave Jaquez added motivation to complete the feat.

His family was very proud of what Jacquez had achieved at such a young age.

"I’m so proud of this kid. He is truly the definition of determination and dedication,” a message written by his family on Facebook said.

The current record is held by Syrafina Mohammed of Miami, Florida, who completed the half marathon in all 50 states at the age of 12 in 2016.