If there is a certain type of person who finds solace in running miles upon miles, day in and day out, then 65-year-old Linda Null of Wappapello is that type of person.
On Dec. 30, just days after her birthday, the retired school teacher laced up her sneakers and ran 13.1 miles through frigid air to complete her 65th half-marathon or greater race, Run for the Ranch in Springfield, Mo.
"I'm not fast," she said, laughing. "But I don't run to be fast."
Null accomplished this feat in merely 15 years, as she didn't fall in love with the sport until she was 50-years-old.
"This actually wasn't a goal," she said. "My goal is to run every state. But when I added them up, I had 64. I thought 'I'm turning 65, wouldn't it be cool to add one more."
Null said her relationship with distance running has strengthened several aspects of her life: it brought her closer to God, helped her overcome a debilitating illness, and gave her life's greatest support system: a network of friends.
Null said she struggled with health issues until her 40s when she was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body, most often the lungs and lymph glands.
"I was on a lot of medication. I was on inhalers. I couldn't sleep lying down. I was having difficulty breathing. I was a mess. I was so depressed, I started walking. When I got out and into the fresh air, I noticed my airways would open up a little," she said.
After making the decision to start jogging, Null met with her team of doctors at St. Louis University Hospital and shared the news.
"When I announced that I think I'm going to start running, you could have heard a pin drop," she said. "My lungs have irreversible damage. Eventually one of them spoke up, but basically they didn't say not to do it."
Null said the rest is history.
"Long story short, after many visits, my symptoms, like cancer, went into remission without having to undergo chemo," she said.
A week before Run for the Ranch, Null's doctor called her on Christmas Eve and released her from the regular pulmonary exams she's been subjected to for the last 15 years. It was a moment the pair celebrated together.
"People ask me how I stay motivated," she said. "I tell them, 'If you've ever been so sick you couldn't breathe and felt like you had someone sitting on your chest 24/7, and you've passed out because you couldn't catch your breath; I'm going to keep running.'"
Null said she believes God used running to help her overcome her illness. She began sharing her story and passion for running with others using the Run with God 5k Challenge, a 12-week Bible study program that combines faith and endurance training to help take people through their first 3.1 mile race.
"Once I started getting well, the running just made me feel so good I had to share my story," she said. "I think running really parallels your spiritual life."
Null said she enjoys teaching and getting others involved in something she holds dear. She said she does warn participants, however, that running a 5k isn't easy.
"When I start my Run for God class, I try to tell them that this is going to take commitment. This is a relationship, just like your relationship with God. You have to cultivate it," she said.
As for her next race, Null is preparing to run the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon in North Bend, Wash., in June.
"It's a trail run down a mountain," she said. "I thought okay, gravity can be my friend, but I prefer trail runs and I'm really looking forward to it."
The 26.2 mile trail run will be Null's 66th half or greater race and number 30 toward her goal of running every state. She said she will begin training in February.
"I don't think I'm amazing," she added. "I think I'm determined; I think I'm disciplined; I think I'm committed; but really I feel like God has blessed me."