'I love the challenge': Biking, running or rowing, this 66-year-old Peorian keeps going

PEORIA — Kathy Jones has seen the world, by foot, by bicycle and by kayak.

Not even her bike can keep up with her. She made it back to Peoria a week ago after a 4,000-mile bicycle ride across America.

Her 2007 black and white Trek Madone has not yet shown up through shipping, though.

"It's still out there, somewhere," the 66-year-old Peoria resident and Amboy native said, laughing. "It's taking a break."

Which is something Jones just doesn't do. She has run marathons on seven continents. Won the Illinois state championship in arm-wrestling, then broke her arm in the nationals in Des Moines, Iowa. Claimed the 1979 California state powerlifting championship with a deadlift of 325 pounds in the 132-pound weight class.

Background:Peorian Kathy Jones runs marathon on her seventh continent

And in her spare time — what's that? — she is an accomplished artist who paints and wood-carves animals.

"I like to do everything," Jones said. "Kayak races, marathons, bike treks, all over the U.S. and in different countries from Italy, Kenya, Ecuador, Netherlands, Australia. I plan to kayak across Portugal next year."

Goat soap and a turtle rescue

The Cycle America challenge started nine weeks ago in Everett, Wa., and included rides of about 80 miles per day — she started at 6:30 a.m. and rode until about 5 p.m. — until the course concluded in coastal fishing town Gloucester, Mass.

Vans with riders' clothing and gear followed behind them each day, and each stopping point was set up with indoor or outdoor camping at local schools.

Along the way she rode through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming (several days), South Dakota (length of the state), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, up into Canada (Ontario and Niagara Falls) and then down into New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

"It took 9 weeks, kind of a bike version of the Appalachian Trail," Jones said. "There were 51 of us who started on June 20. You had to get to each point no matter what the weather or fatigue was. There were meals at the school waiting for you."

There were riders from all over the world in the group, including Bosnia, Greece, Spain and the United Kingdom.And there were some special stops along the way, too.

"I would stop and pet horses and get pictures of goats," Jones said, laughing. "I was getting a couple selfies with these goats and the farmer invited me over to watch feeding time. He gave me a bar of soap made from goat milk and oatmeal."

She turned around during one stretch to rescue a turtle that had flopped on its back.

"It was tough, but also relaxing, a chance to reflect about your life and think about other things," Jones said. "I was talking to people and hearing about their adventures.

"It was more than just biking. It's seeing the U.S. at a slow, personal pace."

At the starting line

Jones grew up in Amboy and moved to Peoria with her husband, a Navy man, in 1980. They are divorced now. She had a daughter, Erica, who died in 2015.

Jones worked for the government for over 30 years, serving as an executive secretary for the USDA Lab in Peoria, then working at an Army recruiting battalion and later the post office.

She beat cancer four years ago. Her house is full of magnificent wood carvings and paintings of various animals.

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Run, Kathy, run

Jones — or "Kathy with a K" as her fellow bike riders nicknamed her on the bike trail — got into running when she was visiting a friend in Turkey and signed up for a marathon.

"I initially wanted to run marathons in every state in the U.S.," Jones said. "But I thought about it, and it seemed like it would be easier to run a marathon on seven continents."

And she did just that. Her marathons included encounters with zebras and baboons in Kenya. Llama herds in Patagonia.

She ran the Safaricom marathon in Kenya, where officials flew overhead in helicopters to keep lions and cheetahs off the course. They were accompanied by snipers armed with tranquilizers in the event the wildlife tried to join the race.

She ran her first marathon in 1995 and qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2000.

Her final marathon continent was Antarctica. To get to the race on King George Island, she rode in a Russian ice-breaker ship across the Drake Passage.

"There was a penguin at the starting line," Jones said. "Only 100 of us were allowed on the ground at any one time, they were trying to control exposure to disease.

"The course followed along the international research stations, we ran past the Chinese and Russian ones, among others."

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Then 50 mph winds swept in and the race was halted 4 miles from the finish. She got back on the Russian ship and ran 4 miles on a treadmill.

What she loves the most

Jones was putting her kayak in the water near Chillicothe when she paused for this story. She says kayaking is her favorite thing. She once competed in a 340-mile kayak race across Missouri.

There is no real way to train for any of these sports. She does her best to remain mentally and physically fit.

"My friends say they'll get me psychiatric help," Jones said, laughing. "I love the challenge of these things."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peorian adds 4,000-mile bike trek to miles of marathons, kayaking