I have picked my next two marathons, and if you follow me on Instagram, you already know what they are!
After a disappointing marathon in March, I needed some time off from the marathon. I also wanted to prioritize some other races this summer/fall, so I chose not to run a fall marathon this year. Honestly, I have no regrets. Sure there’s always a little fomo when I see others running their A races of the season, but I also really enjoyed training for the half marathon, 10 mile, and 10K I did this fall.
My first marathon of 2026 is going to be the Houston Marathon in Houston, TX on January 11th. I’ve heard so many great things about the race, and I primarily chose it because it is flat and fast!
I love the medium-sized races for easier race logistics and being not so insanely expensive. I am also excited for this because Craig gets to come with me this time! He hasn’t seen me run a marathon since 2021 when I broke three hours for the first time. We are just going to go by ourselves (without the boys) for an extended weekend, but it should be a smooth trip with not too long of a flight and staying in the same time zone.
My second marathon of 2026 is going to be the Boston Marathon! Depending upon how long you have been following along on my blog, I did run Boston in 2013. (The year of the bombs.) (And if you have been following along that long, you definitely get a gold star.) I have not been back to Boston since 2013, but it finally worked out this year for me to go back. When I sat down and reflected on each year and why it didn’t work for me to run Boston until now, it was quite the list:
2013 – ran, finished right before the bombs
2014 – pregnant
2015 – didn’t want to run 5 months postpartum
2016 – wanted to focus on a fast course
2017 – injured
2018 – pregnant, then miscarried
2019 – pregnant
2020 – Covid
2021 – chose CIM to go sub-3
2022 – needed a break from marathons
2023 – chose Hawaii for my 40th over Boston
2024 – pregnant, than miscarried
2025 – no qualifying time
2026 – going back to run!
I will definitely be trying to go for a PR at Houston. I know my days/years of running fast are dwindling, so I feel like I want every opportunity to run fast before I no longer can!
Boston will primarily be a trip to take in all the experiences. When I went back in 2013, it was a lot different: no huge shake-out runs, no live podcasts, no pop-up shops, not nearly as much fan-fare before the event, etc. I did do a meet-up with Skinny Runner in the lobby of a hotel when I went, which is what the big-time running bloggers did. Ha!
But I am definitely excited about both, and I think these two races will give me some fun things to look forward to during the winter!
