One month before winning the St. Louis Marathon, Steven Stallis was in Japan running the Tokyo Marathon as part of his goal to finish all six of the worlds major events.

It was just weeks earlier that St. Louis womens champion Sadie Smith ran in a marathon in North Carolina as part of her incessant pursuit of new goals in all 50 states.

The two local runners have different approaches to an often lonely sport but have achieved significant levels of success beyond their first wins in last weekends Go! St. Louis race.

Smith will continue to run marathons at least once a month. Smith won the St. Louis Marathon womens race in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 29 seconds.

Stallis, who won the St. Louis Marathon in 2:32:35, could be done with competition for the year.

But they remain driven by the big picture of their running pursuits.

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Sadie Smith crosses the finish line Sunday to complete her first Go! St. Louis Marathon win.

The blueprint for Smith started with the goal of doing a marathon in every state and then continued to expand.

I think there are two camps, she said. There are runners who train hard for one or two races a year and some who run a marathon every month. Its a lot more motivating for me to have a race every month to look forward to. Its what keeps me going. You keep finding new goals.

After completing the 50 states, she sought to break four hours in every state. Then came running the Boston Marathon womens qualifying time (3:40) in every state, breaking 3 hours, hitting the mens Boston qualifying time (3:10), and finally breaking three hours.

She has endured the massive volume to run 92 marathons in nine years.

Stallis ran his first marathon in 2017 and quickly adopted a plan to run in the six majors, which include Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo and London. The latter remains his last pursuit.

This became the big focus. Jumping in, the first couple I didnt run fast or well, he said. Then I ran well in New York and was 92nd, and I thought This is cool to be top 100 in a world major. So I thought, can I do it in Boston and Tokyo? Instead of just running them, it became how well I could do.

Stallis ran a personal record of 2:24:48 in Tokyo. He now awaits the dumb luck of a lottery to get into the field for London.

The experiences described by both runners about the St. Louis race were remarkably similar for two people who didnt run together and dont know each other.

The course was more difficult than might be imagined. Running with the lead was a challenge without knowing what was happening behind you. Other than the lack of scenic terrain, there was a complete absence of fans along most of the course.

And as leads dwindled for Smith and Stallis, both found that they were not finishing at their best.

I kind of fell apart pretty bad, Smith said.

I was falling apart a little bit, Stallis said in a separate conversation. Being in your own head for 20 miles is grueling.

Smith said she fully expected to be passed, ultimately seeing a 3 -minute lead shrink to less than a minute at the end. Stallis led for 20 miles and was equally uncertain, seeing a 2 -minute lead dwindle to 40 seconds.

Now, he must wait. He qualified for the first five majors he ran, but London fills the field with a lottery. Hes entered the lottery every year since 2018 and is contemplating other goals while he waits.

He would like to break the 2:20 mark. He talks with restraint about the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:18.

Ive dropped 15 minutes, so Im close to 2:20, he said. The Trials qualifier would be crazy. I dont know if realistically I can do that, but its something to think about. Six minutes is a chunk of time (to improve). Its a huge stretch.

At 31, Stallis doesnt believe he has peaked. Smith, 44, is of the same belief.

She has raised the bar for herself with each accomplishment reached. She achieved her goal of breaking 3 hours in every state last year.

There are states she will need to repeat to break three hours in all 50, a feat she has realized in 18 states so far. She has been able to get under that time by adding strength training and working with a personal coach.

When I just do my thing, Im pretty consistent, she said. I was a really consistent 3 -hour marathoner and made changes two years ago and became consistent around 2:58. I can come within five minutes of that on any course.

Neither runner has moved into the world of ultra running yet, although Smith said she will run her first 50K at the end of April. Stallis said longer distances could be in his future, but for now, hell stick to his maintenance training, doing around 90 miles per week.

Im on a good trajectory, he said. I keep getting faster, so Ill train and see where it takes me.

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St. Louis marathon winners Steven Stallis, Sadie Smith motivated by ... - St. Louis Post-Dispatch