Who isn’t impressed by watching a marathon — or running one? The grit required to tackle this 26.2-mile problem is exceptional, whether or not you’re an elite athlete aiming to steer the pack or an strange individual decided to finish the course however long it takes.
This helps clarify why marathoning has been on the rise for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic, with participation rising by 5 %, in accordance with some estimates.
Celebrities are additionally feeling drawn to compete. Whether chasing a private greatest, supporting a trigger, or checking off a purpose on their bucket listing — or all three — stars like Harry Styles and Cythia Erivo are going the space.
Harry Styles
Pop famous person Harry Styles formally started his marathon journey in 2025, however he already boasts spectacular working stats, with a 3:24:07 end in Tokyo, then a 2:59:13 end in Berlin simply six months later — a large enchancment that put him in sub-3 territory.
In an interview with Runner’s World, Styles cited the novel What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Japanese writer and marathoner Haruki Murakami as an inspiration to tackle the problem.
“If you want to run a marathon, it takes a lot of discipline. You can’t go too fast too quickly,” Styles mentioned.
Styles additionally drew a parallel between marathoning and music. “When you’re training for a marathon, which is the loneliest part, you just kind of set out for a run, and three hours later you come back. But there’s a real synergy between that and electronic music. It’s kind of hypnotic and becomes like a mantra almost.”
Styles was already in top physical condition previous to taking on marathoning. Speaking to The Independent in 2025, private coach Thibo David mentioned that prematurely of Styles’ Love on Tours present in 2021 the 2 males would meet usually for 12-mile runs and two-hour gymnasium periods together with 20-minute conditioning protocols impressed by David’s background in blended martial arts (MMA).
Cynthia Erivo
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo knocked out a formidable 3:35:36 end on the 2022 London Marathon — and she’s not stopping there, with plans to tackle the 2026 London Marathon in late April.
Erivo is significantly sooner than she was 10 years in the past, when she ran the New York City Marathon in 3:57:07.
Erivo just lately shared her structured coaching schedule with Women’s Health:
Monday: a brief, fast “shake-out” run or hour on a motorcycle “just to get my legs turned over”
Tuesday: a longish run at a relaxed tempo
Wednesday: “Fartlek” periods combining “comfortably hard” working with brief, intense bursts of velocity
Thursday: one other longish run (probably 10 or 11 miles)
Friday: a shorter run (about 6 miles)
Saturday: one other longish run
Sunday: a long term, wherever from a half marathon to twenty or so miles
Erivo additionally prioritizes intentional relaxation and nutrition to assist hold herself marathon-ready. She described herself to Women’s Health as “like a little squirrel” fueling herself with nuts, protein bars, gels, water, nutritional vitamins (together with a multivitamin, vitamin D, B12, and magnesium), and electrolytes.
Colin Farrell
When Colin Farrell ran the Dublin Marathon in 2024, it wasn’t about tempo — it was about objective.
The famend actor pushed a buddy in a wheelchair for the ultimate miles to lift funds and consciousness across the incurable genetic situation epidermolysis bullosa (EB) — turning his 4:06:45 end time into an particularly memorable act.
“That run was nothing compared to the pain she is forced to endure every single day, even though she doesn’t show it,” Farrell informed U.Okay. information company PA Media. “It was an honor to see her waiting for me with 4 kilometers to go, each of those representing a decade of her life, and to do the final stretch together. I’ll never forget it.”
Farrell has additionally run the 2021 Brisbane Marathon, clocking in at 3:53:14.
Jennifer Connelly
Actress and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly laced up in 2024 on the New York City Marathon, coming in at a formidable 3:45:47.
That sub-4 efficiency locations her properly forward of the common leisure runner — suggesting critical beginning line preparation, even whereas balancing a demanding appearing profession.
Post-race, Connelly took to social media with a hat tip to supporters, thanking “the incredible crowd that supported us all the way” together with mates, household, volunteers, and organizers who made the race attainable.
She gave a particular shout-out to Fred’s Team, the official charity working program for New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which has raised over $131 million {dollars} for cancer research.
Randall Park
Actor and comic Randall Park, greatest recognized for his position within the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, joined the marathon ranks when he ran the 2024 New York City Marathon — clocking a end time of 4:16.
Just earlier than his first 26.2, Park revealed to GQ what his greatest coaching problem was — alongside together with his motivation to coach for his first marathon at age 50.
“It was about changing my mindset by challenging myself incrementally, and conquering those little challenges,” Park mentioned. “I’ve gotten a lot more into fitness in general, particularly with my father passing away and seeing his decline. It’s really made me think about my daughter and how I want to be there for her as long as possible and I want to be as healthy as possible.”
Ashton Kutcher
In 2022 actor Ashton Kutcher revealed he’d been recognized with an autoimmune illness referred to as vasculitis that incapacitated him. “Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium,” Kutcher revealed on an episode of National Geographic’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge. “It took me like a year to build it all back up.”
Build it up he did, and then some: He not solely ran his first marathon, the 2022 New York City marathon, however he accomplished it in below 4 hours.
As notable as his 3:54:01 end time was his partnership different runners to lift greater than $1 million for his tech-focused nonprofit Thorn, devoted to defending kids from sexual abuse.
In an interview with GQ days earlier than the race, Kutcher supplied this recommendation to folks keen on becoming a member of the ranks of marathon runners: “It’s just one step at a time. Running is just a controlled fall. That’s it,” he mentioned.
Kevin Hart
Marathons aren’t a brand new problem for comedian-actor Kevin Hart. He completed his first race in New York City again in 2017, clocking in at 4:05:06. The subsequent yr, Hart checked one other 26.2 off his listing — crossing the end line on the 2018 Chicago Marathon at 4:13.
“I am doing this to be an example that you can be anything that you put your mind to. I put my mind to it, and I am going to get it done. That simple,” he mentioned.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is a celeb marathoning legend. The former discuss present host and media mogul made headlines together with her 4:29:15 end on the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon, a time that grew to become iconic in working tradition.
In later reflections on the marathon-running journey, Oprah has embraced a easy — but highly effective — philosophy, and has been quoted as referring to types of train as “a great metaphor for life.”
Oprah’s run helped demystify distance working for folks throughout the nation, inspiring a technology of first-time marathoners who associated to her everywoman quest for well being and wellness.
Natalie Dormer
Known for her position as Margaery Tyrell within the HBO sequence Game of Thrones, actress Natalie Dormer completed the 2014 London Marathon in a formidable 3:50:27. That sub-4 end places her among the many sooner celeb runners — and displays critical coaching behind the scenes.
Dormer confirmed up on the London Marathon once more in 2016, coming in simply shy of her earlier end time. Speaking to UK information outlet The Guardian on the time, Dormer underscored the significance of getting a assist system throughout these powerful coaching moments.
“Your support network when you train for a marathon has to be sympathetic. Your friends and family — they are doing it with you. So whenever someone tells you that they are going to do it, give them as much encouragement as possible and then give the people in their life as much encouragement as possible, because I know it’s really hard on the other people in the house as well,” Dormer mentioned.
Alicia Keys
R&B singer Alicia Keys took on the New York City marathon in 2015, ending in 5:50:52, and embracing the psychological problem as a lot because the bodily one.
In a Refinery29 weblog on the time, Keys famous what saved her impressed throughout the race.
“What got me through was seeing incredible runners with prosthetic legs, or a man leading a blind runner, or an older woman walking with a cane to make it. These were the surges of strength that I needed,” Keys mentioned. “And the reminder that my mind is strong, even stronger than my body — the most intimate example of mind over matter.”
Carl Radke
Television persona and Summer House star Carl Radke crossed the 2025 New York City Marathon end line in 4:04:25 — and this milestone marked greater than a health achievement.
For Radke, the race is a part of a broader wellness purpose, because the star has been open on social media and within the public sphere about how working matches into his sobriety journey targeted on well being and accountability.
“I kind of crave the runner’s high,” Radke mentioned in an interview on the time with the Zac Clark Show podcast. “I used to crave other highs back in the day. But this one, especially, there’s something about, I don’t know … I feel like I’m confident, more confident, I’m more happier. And I don’t always feel that way pre-run.”
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell could also be recognized for comedy, however his marathon efficiency — 3:56:12 on the 2003 Boston Marathon — was no joke.
He informed media retailers on the time, “Running marathons is not a question of whether it will be painful, but when it will be painful. It does help to have a sense of humor, but I’m also respectful of the race.”
Ferrell nonetheless runs — proving he’s as dedicated to endurance as he’s to leisure.
