Marathon States Under Four Hours (50<4)
In 2016, I received an email from a New Hampshire running legend named Bob Kennedy. He was soliciting help in recruiting runners to run a race he was organizing called the Cache La Poudre Marathon. That race ended up being the second of four marathons I outright won in my lifetime.
But it was also notable because it was the first time I heard of the 50Sub4 Marathon Club, of which Bob was the president. It was a club where people were not only trying to run a marathon in every American state but do so in under four hours. At the time, I thought it was an over-achieving goal. My quest to simply finish a marathon in each of the 50 states was good enough for me.
However, the closer I got to 50 with so many completed in under four hours, I kept 50<4 in mind. I thought it was a possible next goal after completing all marathon states.
On September 25, 2022, I finished running a marathon in every state. Below is a list of them. For states where I’ve run more than one 26.2-miler, I’ve listed the race that I ran quickest.
When I finished all 50 marathon states, I had run 35 of them with a time under four hours. Of the 15 that I did not,
- Two were part of Ironman triathlons, where I had swum 2.4 miles and biked 112-miles beforehand. (Arizona, Idaho)
- Two were part of ultramarathons that were much longer than 26.2 miles. (Kansas, Wyoming)
- Four were races that I ran the day after a full marathon. (Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont)
- One was a race that I ran the day after a half marathon. I also had laryngitis. (Florida)
- One was run while wearing a 40-pound rucksack. (New Mexico)
- Three were slow because they were trail races. (Maryland, Virginia)
- Three were slow because I was undertrained and not in shape. (Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee)
I moved to Spain a year ago. If I were still living in the U.S., I would be tempted to go back to those states and run sub-four-hour marathons. But it is more impractical and expensive to do so when living in Europe.
Instead, my next goal will be to finish running all the World Marathon Majors. I have already run Boston, Chicago, and New York. Only Berlin, London, and Tokyo remains. (Edit 2024-11: Now Sydney too.)
I certainly hope to run each of those in under four hours!
| State | Date | Marathon | (Best) Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2013-02-17 | Mercedes Marathon | 4:09:14 | |
| Alaska | 2022-09-25 | Kenai River Marathon | 3:22:28 | Second place overall |
| Arizona | 2006-04-09 | Ironman Arizona | 5:14:16 | Swam 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles beforehand |
| Arkansas | 2017-04-04 | Mission Run in the Ozarks Marathon | 3:32:07 | First place overall |
| California | 2004-03-07 | Napa Valley Marathon | 3:50:00 | |
| Colorado | 2011-05-01 | Colorado Marathon | 3:18:23 | |
| Connecticut | 2020-01-25 | Arena Attack Indoor Marathon | 3:42:18 | Indoors |
| Delaware | 2021-06-05 | Mainly Marathons Independence Series: Delaware | 3:43:25 | Second place overall |
| Florida | 2009-01-11 | Disney World Marathon | 4:06:22 | Part of a half marathon/full marathon on back-to-back days challenge. Also had laryngitis. |
| Georgia | 2010-03-06 | Snickers Marathon | 3:11:42 | |
| Hawaii | 2022-09-04 | Kauai Marathon | 3:45:18 | |
| Idaho | 2003-06-28 | Ironman Coeur d’Alene | 5:59:26 | Swam 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles beforehand |
| Illinois | 2006-10-22 | Chicago Marathon | 3:22:31 | |
| Indiana | 2015-10-17 | Indianapolis Marathon | 3:43:39 | |
| Iowa | 2019-09-14 | Wabash Trace Trail Marathon | 3:40:50 | |
| Kansas | 2010-04-24 | Free State 100k Trail Race | 5:XX:XX | Part of a 62-mile run |
| Kentucky | 2017-11-05 | Bowling Green Marathon | 4:13:01 | Did almost no run training due to spending six weeks in Iberia, including walking more than marathon a day on the Camino de Santiago for three weeks. |
| Louisiana | 2006-02-05 | Mardi Gras Marathon | 3:29:35 | |
| Maine | 2021-05-17 | Pine Tree Marathon | 3:28:06 | |
| Maryland | 2016-03-05 | Seneca Creek Trail Marathon | 5:11:02 | Part of a back-to-back trail marathon weekend |
| Massachusetts | 2008-04-21 | Boston Marathon | 3:28:46 | |
| Michigan | 2019-02-02 | Groundhog Day Marathon | 3:59:45 | |
| Minnesota | 2017-06-17 | Grandma’s Marathon | 3:26:05 | |
| Mississippi | 2019-01-26 | Mississippi Blues Marathon | 3:36:05 | |
| Missouri | 2014-10-19 | Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Marathon | 3:26:28 | |
| Montana | 2012-09-16 | Montana Marathon | 4:43:44 | Ran it one day after the Bismarck Marathon |
| Nebraska | 2010-09-26 | Omaha Marathon | 3:28:41 | |
| Nevada | 2013-11-17 | Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon | 3:48:18 | |
| New Hampshire | 2021-05-18 | Granite State Marathon | 4:29:18 | Ran it one day after the Pine Tree Marathon |
| New Jersey | 2021-06-08 | Mainly Marathons Independence Series: New Jersey | 3:44:27 | First place overall |
| New Mexico | 2008-03-30 | Bataan Memorial Death March | 5:58:46 | Wore a 40-pound rucksack. |
| New York | 2016-11-06 | New York City Marathon | 3:31:05 | |
| North Carolina | 2010-03-13 | Ellerbe Springs Marathon | 3:35:53 | |
| North Dakota | 2012-09-15 | Bismarck Marathon | 3:34:54 | |
| Ohio | 2022-09-17 | Air Force Marathon | 3:30:30 | |
| Oklahoma | 2009-04-26 | Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon | 3:47:13 | |
| Oregon | 2005-07-04 | Foot Traffic Flat Marathon | 3:34:27 | |
| Pennsylvania | 2016-03-06 | Naked Bavarian Trail Marathon | 5:55:13 | Ran it the day after the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon. |
| Rhode Island | 2021-05-22 | Red Island State Marathon | 3:42:20 | |
| South Carolina | 2020-03-07 | Run Hard Columbia Marathon | 3:31:37 | |
| South Dakota | 2006-06-04 | Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon | 3:32:34 | |
| Tennessee | 2005-03-20 | Knoxville Marathon | 4:03:27 | |
| Texas | 2010-04-10 | Davy Crockett Bear Chase | 3:12:54 | My first and best marathon overall win |
| Utah | 2007-10-06 | St. George Marathon | 3:03:24 | Personal best |
| Vermont | 2021-05-19 | Maple Leaf Marathon | 4:30:59 | Ran it a day after the Granite State Marathon and two days after the Pine Tree Marathon |
| Virginia | 2021-05-30 | Conquer the Cove Trail Marathon | 4:36:29 | Technical with too many tree roots to run fast. |
| Washington | 2021-12-22 | Reindeer Marathon | 3:55:30 | |
| West Virginia | 2019-11-03 | Marshall University Marathon | 3:31:06 | |
| Wisconsin | 2021-06-13 | Maritime Marathon | 3:38:39 | |
| Wyoming | 2006-05-28 | Rocky Mountain Double Marathon | 4:19:XX | A 52.4-mile run. |
Adding to the 50<4 List
Two years after completing all 50 marathon states and a year after running a marathon in the District of Columbia, I decided to see if I could increase the total number of states I ran a marathon in under four hours.
I am haven’t committed to setting 50<4 as a lifetime goal yet, but the following section will keep track of progress in doing so. Since by the time I had completed all 50 marathon states, 35 were under 4 hours, meaning that there were 15 states where I’d try to improve on my times.
Because of the following, there are now just 14 states where I haven’t run a sub-4 marathon.
- Idaho: City of Trees Marathon, 3:32:16. (October 12, 2024)
