Celebrities, including Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart, have gone the distance and completed 26.2-mile races.
After witnessing the New York City Marathon as a spectator, Reynolds decided to give it a go in 2008. Ahead of his first big race, he penned an essay for the Huffington Post, using humor to explain why he chose to run.
“Every other day I train. I run like a bastard all morning. Not since the discovery of Junior High School has a torture been so effective,” he wrote in November 2008. “Why on earth would I willfully do this? Let it be known at the outset, I am not a runner. I am a running joke. Waking up at 4:30 a.m. and jogging anywhere from 11 to 23 miles has been nothing short of horrifying.”
The Green Lantern actor continued: “Although, I’ve never given birth to a professional basketball player through one of my tear ducts, I can’t imagine a worse way to start the day. Conversely, some people have real problems. I digress …”
Reynolds explained that he willingly signed up for the event after meeting Michael J. Fox and saw his “overwhelming strength” firsthand. The Canadian actor, who earned money for Parkinson’s Disease research with his run, noted that his father’s struggle with Parkinson’s Disease also inspired him to run a marathon.
Bachelorette alum Tayshia Adams, on the other hand, chose to start running again amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 after a car accident in college left her with a pelvic injury that affected her ability to run. She ran her first marathon in New York City in 2021.
Scroll down to see which other famous faces have run marathons or half marathons — and find out how long it took them to finish:
Claire Holt (3:42:43)
In a November 2024 Instagram Story post, the Originals actress called her time at the NYC marathon a “redemption.”
Peter Weber (3:58:25)
“I’m doing the same song the entire race — ‘Kids in Love’ by Kygo,” the former Bachelor told Us Weekly ahead of November 2024’s NYC marathon. “It’s my race song. It works for me and it puts me in a very meditative, trance-like state. I kind of go in and out of that — taking in the energy of the city and then right back to in-between the ears.”
Tayshia Adams (4:39:21)
Adams once again ran the NYC marathon in 2024 as part of Team Maybelline.
Matt James (3:00:20)
James raced in the 2024 NYC Marathon, finishing in just over three hours.
Zac Clark (3:16:43)
“I love you NYC,” he wrote via Instagram Story in November 2024 after the marathon.
TJ Holmes (4:41:41)
The TV broadcaster raced in the 2024 NYC marathon after suffering an injury at the Chicago race.
Aston Kutcher (3:54:01)
The actor ran the 2022 NYC Marathon on behalf of his THORN nonprofit. He spent six months training for the race and documented his progress along the way.
Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark (4:40:24)
The former couple participated in the New York Road Runners’ Virtual Resolution 5K in New York City’s Central Park in January 2021. They finished at about the 30-minute mark, which kicked off Clark’s training for both the London and New York City Marathon.
When the Bachelorette alums ran the 2021 NYC Marathon together, they came in at 4:40:24 — and shared a sweet embrace at the finish line.
Willie Geist (3:58:23)
The Today anchor ran the 2021 New York City Marathon to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. “My father Bill Geist has had Parkinson’s for 30 years,” he wrote via Instagram before the race. “I’ll be running my first marathon for him and for the 5 million Parkinson’s patients and families around the world.”
Nev Schulman (3:22:43)
The host of MTV’s Catfish is a staple at the NYC Marathon, running his first one in 2015, finishing in 3:34. According to Runner’s World magazine, he’s one of the fastest celebrities in the race — and gets faster every year. In 2021, he clocked in at 3:22:43.
Abby Wambach (3:44: 25)
The Olympic gold-winning soccer player ran the 2021 NYC Marathon with the support of her wife, author Glennon Doyle, who poked fun at Wambach before the race, tweeting, “Marathoners: Life is too easy. I must find a way to make it much much harder.”
Marcus Mumford (3:53:22)
The 2021 NYC Marathon was the Mumford and Sons frontman’s first race. His bandmate Ben Lovett also ran the marathon, coming in at 4:18:29.
Chelsea Clinton (3:59:09)
The former first daughter ran in the 2021 NYC Marathon — but joined under a pseudonym, according to Runner’s World. Her parents, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, were there to greet her at the finish line.
Matt James (5:02:23)
The Bachelor season 25 star ran the 2021 NYC Marathon with fellow Bachelor Nation alum, Tyler Cameron, and finished just seconds behind his friend.
James participated in the 2022 NYC Marathon and finished with an improved time of 3:46:45.
Tyler Cameron (4:39:54)
The Bachelorette alum, who competed on season 15 of the series, ran the 2019 New York City Marathon. He came in at 4:39:54.
The reality star also ran the 2021 NYC Marathon in honor of his late mother, Andrea, clocking in at 5:02:16. It was his second marathon in less than a month, having competed in the Chicago marathon in late October 2021.
Andi Dorfman (3:56:17)
The former Bachelorette ran in 2019’s New York City Marathon finishing strong with a 3:56:17 time. She also competed in the 2021 marathon.
Kevin Hart (4:05:00)
The Jumanji actor finished with a time of 4:05:00 in his first major race, running in the 2017 New York City Marathon.
Karlie Kloss (4:14:49)
The supermodel put her body to the test in the 2017 New York City Marathon, finishing in 4:14:49.
Alicia Keys (5:50:52)
Keys completed the New York City Marathon in 2015 with a time of 5:50:52 in support of Keep a Child Alive. “One foot in front of the other was my mantra!,” she posted on Instagram post-finish. She also told Refinery29: “I’m all about breaking mental boundaries, and training for a marathon falls right into the Jedi mind-training I need.”
Gordon Ramsay (3:30:37)
Even though he had to bow out of the 2015 Ironman World Championships after becoming ill, the Scottish-born chef flew to the 2004 London Marathon finish line in 3:30:37.
Christy Turlington Burns (3:46:45)
When the supermodel competed in the 2021 NYC Marathon, it marked the 10th anniversary of her first time running the five-borough race. It was also the first marathon she ran with her and husband Ed Burns’ daughter, Grace, who was born in 2003. Burns finished in 4:01:20, while her daughter came in at 5:31:14.
Burns posted her best time of 3:46:45 at the 2015 London marathon. “Health is your greatest wealth,” she told Runner’s World in 2012. “So experiencing a marathon and seeing what you’re capable of is really special.”
Pippa Middleton (3:56:33)
Duchess Kate’s sister placed 32nd at the Safaricom Lewa Marathon in Kenya on June 27, 2015, finishing her run in 3:56:33. Then in May 2016, she managed China’s Great Wall Marathon with its 5,164 steps and 820-foot climb in 85-degree heat in 4:54:51.
Ethan Hawke (4:25:30)
“When your hamstring starts to cramp up and your calf starts to cramp up, you really want to be anonymous,” Hawke, who ran 2015’s New York Marathon alongside his wife, Ryan, said on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after crossing the line in 4:25:30.
Teri Hatcher (5:06:42)
“In the beginning, I couldn’t even run a mile without rap music or pop music blaring in my brain,” the actress, who ran the 2014 New York City Marathon in 5:06:42, told Women’s Running in 2015. “Once I started running longer distances without music, I started to understand the meditative high that can come with running. It really does put you in touch with your mind, your breathing and your body.”
Natalie Dormer (3:50:57)
The Game of Thrones and Hunger Games alum crossed the 2014 London Marathon finish in 3:50:57 for a cause. “Childline is a charity that’s been close to my heart for a very long time,” the actress, whose next project is a film she cowrote called In Darkness, told Us at the UN’s Humanitarian Day in August. “So that was the motivation I needed to run those miles.”
Uzo Aduba (5:03:24)
Under her full name, Uzoamaka Aduba, the Orange Is the New Black actress mastered the 2015 Boston Marathon in 5:03:24. Adding a few seconds to her 2013 New York City Marathon 5:17:57 time? A man who asked her for a selfie at Mile 17.
Pamela Anderson (5:41:02)
After finishing the New York City Marathon in 2013 in 5:41:02, the model-actress later admitted to The Ellen DeGeneres Show: “Those last 5 miles. It was like giving birth and then being told to run as you’re giving birth. It was so much pain in my hips. I don’t know if women are meant to run, especially after having kids.”
Drew Carey (4:37:11)
The Price Is Right host mastered his first 26.2-mile race at age 53, when his heart rate-based training led him to a 4:37:11 time at the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.
Mario Lopez (4:23:29)
The host, who has completed both the Boston and New York Marathons, scored his best time in New York in 2011 with 4:23:29. “Obviously marathons are big commitments, so I usually try to tie it in with a charity to raise money,” he said to Runner’s World in 2014.
Al Roker (7:09:44)
“I remember looking at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and thinking, ‘What have I signed up for here?’,” The Today Show cohost said to Runner’s World in 2011 of running the 2010 New York City Marathon in 7:09:44, just months after he started running. “I guess the adrenaline kind of gets you going, and you’re literally off to the races!”
Shia LaBeouf (4:35:31)
Before running 144 laps around the Stedelijk art museum in Amsterdam as performance art in 2014, the star completed the 2010 L.A. Marathon in 4:35:31.
Ryan Sutter (3:17:56)
The Bachelorette alum improved his time each of the three times he ran in the New York City Marathon — starting with 3:24:52 in 2009 to a 3:17:56 in 2011. He also ran the 2012 Boston Marathon.
Ed Norton (3:48:01)
The Collateral Beauty actor was a competitive rower at Yale and ran in support of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust in 2009 in 3:48:01 when he was 39. “Running in the park, I got a taste of what people say about the New York marathon,” Norton said to CNN that year. “There were people of every shape and size out there — I really got a lift out of it.”
Ryan Reynolds (3:50:22)
“I am not a runner. I am a running joke,” the Deadpool actor wrote in a Huffington Post blog before he ran the 2008 New York City marathon in 3:50:22 on behalf of his dad, who has since passed away from complications due to Parkinson’s disease.
Katie Holmes (5:29:58)
Conspiracy theories about whether or not she actually did the entire course aside, a sweat-free, camisole-wearing Holmes was seen crossing the finish line and officially completing the New York City Marathon with a net time of 5:29:58 on November 4, 2007.
Freddie Prinze, Jr. (5:50:49)
He’s all that! Under the name Freddie James, the actor made his final stride at the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon and crossed the finish in 5:50:49.
Natalie Morales (3:31:42)
“Running is my meditation, my therapy, my time to rock out and even my time to pray,” Morales, who has run at least six marathons including finishing the 2006 NYC race in 3:31:42, has said on Today.
Diddy (4:14:54)
After his 4:14:54 New York City race in 2003, Diddy said to reporters, “I’ve never experienced mental or physical pain like that, as reported by MTV that year. After eight weeks of training, he experienced leg cramps during mile 12 of the race. “I was in real trouble and I wanted to stop,” the singer, who raised more than $2 million for the city’s kids, said. “It was a life-changing experience because I did not stop.”
Lisa Ling (4:34:18)
“I was in excruciating pain from the second I started to the second I finished, but I was so high on life,” the This Is Life host said in 2005 to Runner’s World of completing the 2001 Boston Marathon in honor of her cousin and uncle in 4:34:18. “You know how it feels to run a marathon — it’s just the most amazing, amazing feeling. Everyone’s cheering and the energy is so vibrant.”
Will Ferrell (3:56:12)
After running New York in 2001 and Stockholm in 2002, the comedian raced to his personal best with a 3:56:12 finish at the Boston Marathon in 2003. But there’s no mixing funny business with his strides. “People are terribly underwhelmed when they recognize me in a race. There’s nothing funny going on. It’s just a lot of silence and pain,” he joked to Competitor in 2013.
Bill Rancic (4:29:03)
The first Apprentice winner scored his best time at the 2015 Chicago Marathon with 4:29:03 — his previous best was way back in 2001 when he finished in 4:31:31, also in Chicago.
George W. Bush (3:44:52)
Before he was sworn in as president in 2001, the Texan took 1,221th place at the Houston Marathon when he was 46, clocking 3:44:52.
Al Gore (4:54:26)
In the middle of his vice presidency, Gore put running the 1997 Marine Corps Marathon in the nation’s capital on his agenda. He finished in 4:54:26.
Bryan Cranston (3:20:45)
After being fired from the ABC soap opera Loving in 1984, he wandered into NYC’s Central Park days later and saw “old people, children, people in bunny costumes, people who’d lost their legs, this amazing menagerie of humanity” running the marathon, as he told the New Yorker in 2012. He was inspired to run it himself the next year, when the then 29-year-old finished it in 3:20:45.
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