Keep the goal. Alter the course. Regroup and run to the finish.
Christine Palmisano collected these life lessons during 16 years of running half marathons across all 50 states. At first, she chased the clock, aiming to break two hours (which she did). She trained with accomplished runners and pushed for performance.
Along the way, life evolved and so did the process of accomplishing a bucket list effort that turned into a lifestyle, a commitment to service and newfound love.
These lessons are at the heart of Finishing Fifty, Christine’s memoir about completing a half marathon in every state. But despite the miles logged and finish lines crossed, she hopes readers understand something from the outset.
This isn’t really a book about running.
“It’s about how we all might adapt and change and still set goals,” she says.
If adaptability kept Christine moving, community helped get her there. “I am a social runner,” she says.
Over the years, running introduced her to teammates, coaches and elite athletes. She participated in Team in Training, raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society while two friends battled blood cancers.
And in 2013, several years into the 50-state quest, she met her husband, Mike, who joined the adventure. “I couldn’t have done this without the support of the community,” Christine says.
That community became as much a part of the experience as the races themselves.
So did the places. Checking off states was never simply about arriving, running 13.1 miles and flying home. She wanted to experience them.
In Alaska, she traveled to Seward and cruised among glaciers and wildlife. A race in Arizona meant visiting the Grand Canyon. Other events introduced her to parts of the Deep South and regions she had never explored.
“I didn’t realize how much I would learn,” she relates.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of the journey came from considering how easily it might never have happened at all. Christine hadn’t run in 20 years when an aunt invited her to complete a half marathon.
Her first instinct? No, thanks.
At the time, she was in her 40s, raising a teenager and moving through a divorce and other significant changes in life.
Eventually, she reconsidered. Maybe taking on something difficult was exactly what she needed.
“I think I realized the power of accepting an invitation,” she says. “Sometimes it’s easier to say no than do that uncomfortable thing. When you say yes to the thing that pushes you out of your comfort zone, how much growth can you have?”
That first half marathon in New York City’s Central Park in 2009 was difficult and sweltering, with temperatures around 90 degrees. It was also exhilarating.
“I thought I was going to do a half marathon—one and done,” she says. “I didn’t imagine I was going to get the running bug.”
One became another. Seven states in, Christine decided she needed a larger goal to ground her through a period of change.
Why not all 50?
She quickly adds, “I didn’t do it by myself.”
Christine didn’t know she was collecting material for a book as she crossed the country. The miles, monuments and milestones were filed in her head. Turns out, they needed an exit plan—on to pages.
Writing was another part of herself she has rediscovered.
During a 35-year government career, Christine wrote reports and assessments for senior leaders. She had largely stepped away from personal writing for more than three decades. As retirement approached, she began writing poetry for herself.
Then her father-in-law, Dr. Joseph Palmisano, whom she calls Opa, found out and read her work. He encouraged her to publish.
“Sometimes people push you because they see something in you that you don’t see in yourself yet,” she says.
She listened, publishing Thoughts From the Heart: Embracing Change and Finding Love in 2025. Then came another idea: Maybe she should tell the story of those 50 states.
Christine dug through race records and old emails, reconstructing a journey she had never planned to document. Finishing Fifty followed a year after her poetry collection.
Now retired and dividing her time between Ocean Pines and The Villages in Florida, Christine sees writing as another opportunity to keep learning, creating and testing what might come next.
It’s not so different from running.
Find your people. Adjust when you need to. Give yourself some grace. And keep moving forward.
The next finish line? Christine answers with a question. “How do I fill my life with creativity and keep growing?”
Purchase Finishing Fifty on Amazon, at The Buzzed Word or Pam’s Hallmark Shoppe in Ocean City. Palmisano will speak and sign books 10/7 at 6 p.m. at The Buzzed Word. Follow news and sign up for the challenge at christinepalmisano.com.
