The Marathon Report
MarathonGuide Staff
Apr 30, 2026
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History at London · Races near you · Training tips
➡️ Two men broke two hours at London. Dozens of races are coming up across North America. And the one training habit most runners skip. Everything you need this week.
⭐️ Training Tip
Strength Training for Marathoners: The 4 Exercises Every Runner Should Be Doing Weekly
Most runners focus on one thing: miles. More miles, faster miles, better miles. That’s understandable — running is what it’s all about. But the same pattern repeats itself again and again: the athlete who skips the gym hits a wall around mile 18, or worse, shows up to the start line nursing a nagging IT band or a hip flexor that just won’t cooperate.
▶️ Upcoming US marathons for the next two weeks
This section is sponsored by:
⭐️ 6/7/2026 – North Olympic Discovery Marathon – Port Angeles, WA
⭐️ 10/25/2026 – 7 Bridges Marathon – Chattanooga, TN
⭐️ FLAT & FAST COURSES – Best for PRs and Boston Qualifiers
May 2 · Wisconsin Marathon — Kenosha, WI
May 2 – Potomac River Run Marathon & Half — Washington, DC
May 3 – Lincoln Marathon — Lincoln, NE
May 9 – Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon — Holdingford & St. Joseph, MN
May 9 – P.A.C.E. Marathon and Half Marathon — Layton, UT
🏞 SCENIC & DESTINATION RACES -Worth the travel
May 1–2 – Shiprock Marathon — Shiprock, NM
May 3 – Avenue of the Giants Marathon — Eureka, CA
May 9 – Starved Rock Country Marathon — Ottawa, IL
👟 BIG CITY & HIGH-ENERGY RACES – Crowds, atmosphere, and scale
May 1–3 – Long Island Marathon Festival — East Meadow, NY
May 3 – Vancouver International Marathon — Vancouver, BC
May 3 – Toronto Marathon — Toronto, ON Full
🙋🏻♀️ SMALLER & COMMUNITY RACES – Low-key, personal, often PR-friendly fields
May 2 – Farm Park Marathon — Derwood, MD
May 2 – Boise River Marathon — Eagle, ID
May 3 – Sombrero Marathon — Santa Clarita, CA
May 3 – 60th Walter Childs Marathon — Holyoke, MA
May 9 – Granite State Marathon — Nashua, NH
May 9 – York Marathon and Half Marathon — York, PA
🎉 MULTI-DISTANCE FESTIVALS
May 2 – Texas Switchback Marathon — Johnson City, TX
May 2 – Great Allegheny Ohiopyle Marathon Race Festival — Ohiopyle, PA
May 2 – Festival Foods La Crosse Marathon — La Crosse, WI
Know a race that should be on this list? Reply to this email.
Charlevoix Marathon
Welcome to the 20th annual Charlevoix Marathon! We are so excited to host you on one of the most beautiful running courses in the world. Whether you’re trying to qualify for Boston in the full marathon, or challenging yourself at our half marathon, 10km or 5km course, you’re in for an amazing start line on the famous Bridge Street, along Lake Michigan and finishing in old town Charlevoix and Round Lake!
👉 Catch up on the past Monday Musing
I’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel in my life. I made my first multihour road trip when I was seventeen, driving from southern New Hampshire to eastern Pennsylvania to visit Haverford College, where I fell in love with the duck pond and the track coach and applied for early admission. Since then I’ve done countless longer drives, including three …
Mad Marathon, Half, 5K, 10K & Relays
The Mad Marathon, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Vermont’s Green Mountains, is a race that embodies the spirit of challenge and reward. Known for its scenic beauty and unique small-town charm, this event offers a one-of-a-kind experience for runners seeking to conquer both hills and personal limits. From covered bridges to rolling farmland, the course is as picturesque as it is demanding.
⚡️ HISTORY WAS MADE TWICE AT THE 2026 LONDON MARATHON
Sunday’s London Marathon will go down in history — not once, but twice over. For the first time ever, two runners broke the two-hour barrier in the same race. Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe crossed the line in 1:59:30, with Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finishing just eleven seconds behind in 1:59:41.
But beyond the front of the pack, nearly 60,000 runners took on the streets of the capital. Here’s how the field broke down — and where your finish time would have landed you.
Sub-3:00 — 3,304 runners (6% of the field) The elite end of the mass race, including former Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel. Only 1 in 17 finishers made it under this mark.
3:00–3:59 — 16,993 runners (28% of the field) Finishing under four hours put you in the top third of all finishers — that’s a pace of around 9:09/mile. Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo ran 3:21, and BBC presenter Sophie Raworth came home in 3:36.
4:00–4:59 — 19,787 runners (33% of the field) The busiest finishing window of the day. More than one in three runners landed here, including actor James Norton in 4:29.
5:00–5:59 — 12,636 runners (21% of the field) Just over a fifth of the field finished in this range. Journalist and author Bryony Gordon just made it in at 5:56.
6:00+ — 7,010 runners (12% of the field) Arsenal legend Tony Adams finished in 6:21, among the 12% who took six hours or more to cross the line.
➡️ Featured marathon you shouldn’t miss
Nestled along the Illinois River in the heart of the Illinois Valley, the Starved Rock Country Marathon is one of the Midwest’s most scenic and underrated road races. Held annually in Ottawa, IL — the seat of LaSalle County and a town steeped in Lincoln-era history — this event draws runners who want more than a finish line. They want a journey.
Thanks for reading 🤍
Matt Fitzgerald & the MarathonGuide team
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