Kendal Prescott was talking with friends at the starting line of the Bismarck marathon when her future husband came up to her with a line.

He offered her "something like 'Oh, you look nice, can I run with you?'" she said.

Prescott, who will be running the Kroll's Diner Bismarck Marathon on Sept. 19, met her husband at the Bismarck starting line in 2004.

She was known as Kendal Melin back in 2004. She had seen Walt Prescott at other marathons, but they hadn't really talked. She remembered thinking he looked like a nice person and his wife was lucky.

"At mile 20, I learned he wasn't married," she said of that fateful 2004 marathon.

That moment changed how she saw him. She met up with a mutual friend after the marathon and tried to find out more about him. With her friend's help, they were given each other's marathon schedules. They were already signed up for six of the same events.

They continued to meet up at marathons and eventually, he received a job transfer to Atlanta, where Prescott lived. He moved in with her and asked her mother's permission to marry her.

They were married Nov. 6, 2005. It's an anniversary neither can forget because it's also their birthdays.

They continue to run marathons together. They are both members of the 50 State Marathon Club. Runners must have completed 10 marathons before being eligible to join. This year, she is finishing her fifth circuit of the 50 states.

She likes the social aspect of marathons, and the 50 State Marathon Club helps her keep track of who she'll meet up with again at future marathons.

"I probably see an Atlanta guy more while out of state than in state," she said.

They usually pass each other in an airport as they are on their way to different races.

Running has let her and her husband see more than the 50 states. They've also run the Great Wall in China and went to Antarctica for a marathon - "It was more about Antarctica than the marathon," she said. They have run a marathon on each continent.

They have their marathon schedule planned through Nov. 6, 2010, Prescott's 50th birthday. They don't train for marathons, but stay active.

Her husband retired from an airline job a year ago, and has spent five months hiking the Appalachian Trail. Next year, he will hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Kendal Prescott stays in shape by walking to work. She is a social worker at the Veterans Administration hospital and works with blind veterans.

Prescott ran her first marathon in 1990, and completed her first circuit of the states in 1996. She started training for a marathon when she spent five months in a hospital recovering from Guillain-Barre syndrome. She was medically retired from the Army because of the condition.

"I have a blast doing it," she said. "I never thought it would be fun. I couldn't understand it, why people were choosing to run 26 miles. Now I get it."

Registrations for the Bismarck marathon and half-marathon are full.

Registration is still open for the 5K. Online registration for the 5K race is at www.bismarckmarathon.com. Registration will end Sept. 17 or when it is full.

The race starts and ends at Sertoma shelter No. 9.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)