Mike Knobler, the runner

If my high school yearbook had the category, “Least Likely to Become a Marathoner,” I would have been a leading candidate. But at age 38, I moved to Atlanta, and everything changed. Atlanta becomes a running city every Fourth of July, when more than 50,000 people participate in the Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10K. If I was going to understand my new city I had to become one of them.

I expected it to be my first and only race. My only goal was to finish it without walking.

When I started training, I could barely run a mile. On race day, I covered the 6.2 miles in more than an hour and 12 minutes. And I felt like I’d won.

My marathon debut came less than a year later, and I’ve been running marathons ever since. When I cross the finish line of the Bear Lake Marathon in Idaho on June 5, I will have completed a marathon in all 50 states.

At the 2019 Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon.
MarathonLocationTime
Boston Marathon, 2026Boston, Massachusetts3:40:05
White River Marathon, 2025Cotter, Arkansas3:45:32
Des Moines Marathon, 2025Des Moines, Iowa3:50:51
Hartford Marathon, 2025Hartford, Connecticut3:56:11
Twin Cities Marathon, 2025Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.3:59:43
Sundance to Spearfish, 2025Wyoming/South Dakota3:38:53
Jersey City Marathon, 2025Jersey City, New Jersey4:04:29
Charlotte Marathon, 2024Charlotte, North Carolina3:56:08
State Fair Marathon, 2024Grand Island, Nebraska4:25:30
Shiprock Marathon, 2024Shiprock, New Mexico4:09:52
Jacksonville Marathon, 2023Jacksonville, Florida4:15:26
Steamboat Marathon, 2023Steamboat Springs, Colorado4:24:37
Boston Marathon, 2023Boston, Massachusetts3:47:01
Louisville Marathon, 2022Louisville, Kentucky3:52:44
Boston Marathon, 2022Boston, Massachusetts3:46:23
Miss. Blues Marathon, 2022Jackson, Mississippi3:45:53
Route 66 Marathon, 2021Tulsa, Oklahoma3:39:37
Fargo Marathon, 2021Fargo, North Dakota3:29:39
Governor’s Cup, 2021Helena, Montana3:33:40
New York City Marathon, 2019New York, New York3:29:05
Wyoming Marathon, 2019Outside Laramie, Wyoming4:16:44
Mt. Charleston, 2019Las Vegas, Nevada3:30:21
Maui Marathon, 2018Maui, Hawaii4:19:19
Martian Invasion of the Races, 2018Dearborn, Michigan3:52:12
Gobbler Grind, 2017Overland Park, Kansas4:08:17
Bearfest Marathon, 2017Wrangell, Alaska3:59:28
Brian Mickelson Memorial Run, 2017Cottonwood, Arizona3:53:14
California International, 2016Sacramento, California3:33:54
Capital City Marathon, 2016Olympia, Washington3:35:07
Newport Marathon, 2015Newport, Rhode Island3:44:14
St. Louis Marathon, 2015St. Louis, Missouri3:43:38
Charleston Marathon, 2015Charleston, South Carolina3:47:37
Maine Marathon, 2014Portland, Maine3:48:47
Carmel Marathon, 2014Carmel, Indiana3:49:30
Sugar Land Marathon, 2014Sugar Land, Texas3:53:40
Fox Cities Marathon, 2013Appleton, Wisconsin3:47:57
George Washington Birthday, 2013Greenbelt, Maryland4:13:47
Monster Mash Marathon, 2012Dover, Delaware3:47:00
New Orleans Marathon, 2012New Orleans, Louisiana3:52:51
Manchester City Marathon, 2010Manchester, New Hampshire3:42:17
Philadelphia Marathon, 2009Philadelphia, Pennsylvania3:28:50
Boston Marathon, 2009Boston, Massachusetts3:42:45
Philadelphia Marathon, 2008Philadelphia, Pennsylvania3:33:39
Eugene Marathon, 2008Eugene, Oregon3:28:36
Rocket City Marathon, 2007Huntsville, Alabama3:53:42
Marshall University Marathon, 2007Huntington, West Virginia3:46:34
First Light Marathon, 2007Mobile, Alabama4:11:36
Rocket City Marathon, 2006Huntsville, Alabama3:33:04
Top of Utah Marathon, 2006Logan, Utah3:32:41
Last Chance for Boston, 2006Dublin, Ohio3:28:21
Rocket City Marathon, 2005Huntsville, Alabama3:30:15
Chicago Marathon, 2005Chicago, Illinois4:09:26
Vermont City Marathon, 2005Burlington, Vermont3:59:07
Atlanta Marathon, 2004Atlanta, Georgia3:56:15
Marine Corps Marathon, 2004Washington, DC (Virginia)4:02:43
Country Music Marathon, 2004Nashville, Tennessee4:08:05