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Being a fast triathlete doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be a standout standalone runner. (This is why). But some pros have defied the odds and fared quite well over 26.2 miles – all while juggling the rest of their tri training. Here’s a look at a few of the speediest open marathon performances among pros of the past and present.
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Pro male triathletes’ top marathon times
Alex Yee
The marathon: London Marathon 2025
The time: 2:11:08
When an Olympic gold medalist in triathlon calls a marathon one of the best experiences of his life, you know it was a good day. And for Yee, who took on the marathon for the first time at London 2025, it was an excellent day. Pre-race, Yee told Triathlete he entered the race to honor the city that shaped his athletic development, and they returned in kind, lining the streets to offer cheers.
“It was probably one of the best experiences of my life if I’m being honest,” Yee said in a BBC interview after the race. “I expected the crowd to be good, but they were another level.”
Greg Billington
The marathon: California International Marathon (CIM) 2019
The time: 2:16:41
Technically, Billington – a 2016 Olympian in triathlon – was retired from the sport when he posted a smoking-fast PR of 2:16:41 at CIM. But we’ll give him a pass because he eventually made a triumphant return to multisport, as a guide for paratriathlete Brad Snyder, who won a gold medal in Tokyo in the visually impaired division. That marathon time was quick enough to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Atlanta. He followed that up with a 2:15:31 at the unique COVID-created The Marathon Project in December 2020.
Steffen Justus
The marathon: Frankfurt Marathon, 2009
The time: 2:18:44
Justus may not be a household name, but the German did scale many a podium as an ITU standout in the aughts. And it was during that time when he set some ridiculous run PRs, including a 1:05:01 half-marathon and the 2:18 full in Frankfurt – fresh off a successful season where he’d held sub-4:40-per-mile pace in a 10K off the bike. Despite his talent at long-distance running, Justus mostly stuck to draft-legal racing, although he did dip his toes in the 70.3 pool a few times. In 2016, he finished second at 70.3 Bahrain with a run split of 1:11:25 – two minutes faster than the rest of the field.
Christian Bustos
The marathon: Frankfurt Marathon, 1987
The time: 2:19:11
Hailing from Chile, Bustos quite literally gave world champ Mark Allen a run for his money for much of the 1992 Ironman World Championships. He entered a marathon in Santiago, Chile, while training for Kona, won it outright, and later went on to place fifth in Frankfurt with a five-minute PR. In Kona 1992, Bustos challenged Allen for some 14 miles of that race before flagging and placing second, his highest finish ever.
Steve McKenna
The marathon: Ballarat Marathon 2025
The time: 2:19:30
Steve “Lizard” McKenna was proud of his new PR at the Ballarat Marathon – an impressive 2:19:30 – but also joked on Instagram he couldn’t “wait to race a marathon next time.” He also shouted out a nun running the race while wearing a Nerd Belt, the hydration belt McKenna founded in 2024. In all, sounds like a winning day for the Australian.
Adam Bowden
The marathon: Newport Wales Marathon, 2021
The time: 2:20:06
After suffering a DNF at Ironman Mallorca just one week before, Bowden, a Brit, was a last-minute entry to the Newport Wales Marathon, his very first attempt at the distance. (Bowden later shared that it was wife who actually signed him up before he even returned from Spain). The then-39-year-old, who posted several podium finishes at the 70.3 distance between 2018 and 2021, negative split the race (1:10:22/1:09:44) to take the tape. Incidentally, Bowden retired in 2021 but continues to run competitively. At the 2022 Manchester Marathon, he lowered his PR to 2:17.18, finished third in the men’s master division at the 2024 London Marathon ( 2:19.34) last April, and in September clocked 1:06:35 in the half-marathon distance at the Great North Run.
Ty Butterfield
The marathon: Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 2019
The time: 2:21:47
Butterfield, Bermuda’s most decorated male triathlete, started in short-course racing and ultimately moved up to long-distance, snagging several 70.3 podiums (including a 2019 win in Cozumel). The same season, he traveled to Otsu, Japan, for the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, where he broke his own Bermudian record for the men’s marathon, originally set in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games in Australia (2:26:29). After announcing his retirement from triathlon in 2022, Butterfield shifted his focus to running and posted a 2:24:11 finish time at the Zurich Marathon in February of 2023 – just one week after his 40th birthday. He’s gone on to race in Fukuoka, Japan, (December 2023; 2:24:52), Boston (April 2024; 2:26:56), and Valencia (December 2024; 2:26:06).
Kevin Collington
The marathon: California International Marathon, 2023
The time: 2:23:51
Prior to making his marathon debut in Sacramento, Collington joked that he “may even run a PB since I don’t have to swim or ride 180K beforehand.” The then-39-year-old went on to finish in 2:23:51, a time he was “pretty happy with.” Collington announced his retirement from pro racing a month later, and most recently ran back-to-back marathons in Indianapolis (2:34:25) and Ho Chi Minh City (fifth overall in 2:34:55) in November and December, respectively.
Connor Callahan
The marathon: Chicago Marathon, 2024
The time: 2:27:54
An up-and-comer on the pro scene, the 23-year-old Callahan (a collegiate runner turned triathlete) finished 88th out of 50,000 runners in his marathon debut just four weeks removed from his 15th-place showing at Ironman Michigan 70.3. “After coming off a short [three] week training block following the half Ironman Michigan, I’m beyond thrilled with this result,” Callahan posted. “[First] marathon but not my last!”
Patrick Brady
The marathon: Madison Marathon, 2024
The time: 2:29:58
The 38-year-old 70.3 specialist (he had three top-15 finishes in 2024) just eclipsed his goal of a sub-2:30 marathon in November, finishing fifth overall in his hometown race. Brady, who has been competing as a pro for 12 seasons, recently announced that he’ll retire at the end of 2025, at which point he’ll race more locally as an amateur.
Norman Stadler
The marathon: Frankfurt Marathon, 2007
The time: 2:32:14
Just two weeks after a disappointing DNF due to illness in Kona, Germany’s Stadler, a two-time Ironman World Champ, righted the ship with his Frankfurt finish. His 2:32:14 time exceeded his goal of 2:50, and he raised several thousands of dollars for charity with the effort.
Sam Long
The marathon: Napa Valley Marathon, 2019
The time: 2:32:32
Three years into his pro tri career, a then 23-year-old Long opened up his 2019 season with a shiny new marathon PR (his previous best, set as a teenager in 2014, was 2:45:23). And he did so in dramatic fashion, coming from two minutes behind at the 18-mile mark to overtake the leader and win the race. Just two months later, Long would pick up back-to-back wins at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga and Ironman 70.3 Victoria before winning his first Ironman as a pro in Chattanooga that September, posting a 3:06:53 marathon split.
Cam Wurf
The marathon: New York City Marathon, 2024
The time: 2:36:22
Run a marathon a week removed from the Ironman World Championships? No problem for Wurf, who did just that this past fall. After finishing seventh in Hawaii (where he posted a 7th-best 2:50:11 marathon off a 4:03:59 bike split), the 41-year-old Australian flew to New York to knock out another 26.2 miles just eight days later. On somewhat fresher legs, he was able to churn out 26.2-miles and finished in a respectable 2:36:22. “Running the [NYC] Marathon one week after Kona was a test for myself, to prove to myself, how my body is holding up,” he posted. “Still a bit left under the hood yet.” And clearly, it’s holding up OK: Wurf then went on to race Ironman Cozumel on November 24, finishing eigth among pro men with a run split of 2:51:42.
Pro female triathletes’ top marathon times
Erin Baker, Nicola Spirig, Desiree Ficker, Gwen Jorgensen, and Lucy Charles-Barclay are pro female triathletes with impressive marathon PR times.
Anne Haug
The marathon: Frankfurt Marathon, 2016
The time: 2:36.13
One of the fastest runners on the Ironman scene, Haug owns the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship marathon record of 2:48:23. As for what she can do in better conditions (and without the swim and the bike first), the 40-year-old has run one stand-alone marathon back in 2016 when she was making the switch from Olympic-distance to 70.3 racing. But Haug thinks she can go faster. “With training and proper prep, I think I should be able to run sub 2:30,” she commented on an Instagram post. And she’s likely right: In July 2024, Haug, 41, posted a 2:38:52 marathon to win Challenge Roth in record time, a run split that beat all but the men’s champion Magnus Ditlev.
Gwen Jorgensen
The marathon: Chicago, 2018
The time: 2:36:23
After her historic win at the 2016 Olympic games, Jorgensen retired from triathlon in 2017 to chase her marathon dreams as a pro runner. She ultimately posted a 2:36:23 marathon PR, then returned to Olympic-distance triathlon in 2022 as a mom of two.
Erin Baker
The marathon: Pittsburgh Marathon, 1989
The time: 2:36:57
Calling herself a “triathlete who likes to run,” Baker (a two-time Ironman World Champion and one of the winningest women in the history of the sport) took a brief reprieve at the height of her pro career to focus on road racing. Setting her sights on a sub 2:30 marathon, the Kiwi ran both the Pittsburgh and Chicago Marathons in 1989, falling short of her goal each time but impressing nonetheless. Her fastest finish was on a blustery day in Pittsburgh, good enough for third place. She later went on to place second at the Ironman World Champs in 1991 and 1993.
Nicola Spirig
The marathon: European Championships, 2014
The time: 2:37:12
One of the most versatile triathletes to ever compete, the Swiss star Spirig – the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist in triathlon – ran her debut marathon in her “off season” in 2014, clocking 2:42:53 in Zurich in April, one year after having her first child. She then went on to a third-place finish at the 2014 Ironman 70.3 Switzerland before pivoting back to the marathon two months later, ultimately posting her PR of 2:37:12 at the European Champs in Zurich. Just two months after that? Spirig won her debut Ironman, in Cozumel. By 2016, Spirig was back at the Olympics, picking up a silver medal behind Gwen Jorgensen, and returned to the Games to finish 6th in 2021. Also worth mentioning, in 2022, as a 40-year-old mom of three, Spirig posted a 2:45:07 marathon split en route to her 7:34:19 Ironman-distance finish in the Sub8 Project. She retired from pro racing later that year.
Desiree Ficker
The marathon: Austin Marathon, 2007
The time: 2:40:28
The 2006 runner-up at the Ironman World Championships, Ficker used her endurance engine to power her through an impressive second place in her hometown race a few months later. Just her second open marathon, she qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Another highlight on her dazzling resume included a 10th-place finish at the 2009 New York City Marathon in 2:39:30, where she was the second-fastest American on the day – but by then, she had transitioned from triathlon to road racing full-time.
Haley Chura
The marathon: California International Marathon (CIM), 2019
The time: 2:43:19
The multi-time 70.3 champ started as a swimmer (even competing in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials), but she has shown she can hang as a stand-alone runner, too. With her impressive 2:43:19 finish at CIM, she qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the marathon, landing in 304th place in 2:54:25. In 2024, Chura put her run fitness on display in Disney World, winning the Dopey Challenge (a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon, finishing the final race in 2:55). She most recently won the Disneyland Half Marathon dressed as a Yeti (1:24:04).
Tyler Stewart
The marathon: Santa Rosa Marathon, 2011
The time: 2:45.14
In the same year that she landed on the podium at Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Eagleman 70.3, the then-33-year-old demolished her marathon PR and qualified for the 2012 Olympic trials. The Connecticut native (who also posted a top-10 finish at the 2010 Ironman World Championships) then switched her focus to ultra running.
Lucy Charles-Barclay
The marathon: 2020 London Marathon
The time: 2:47:58
Proving there’s not much this versatile star can’t do, Charles-Barclay snagged an all-time marathon PR at the 2021 London Marathon, despite (briefly) losing a shoe and needing a porta-potty pitstop. This, after a stellar 2020-21 season, which included a convincing win at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship just two weeks earlier on the challenging St. George, Utah, course.
Hannah Berry (née Wells)
The marathon: Auckland Marathon, 2019
The time: 2:50:49
Amid a stellar and undefeated 2019 pro season, Berry slid in a debut marathon and won it – sandwiched between victories at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast and Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney. The Kiwi, who has a PhD in biotech engineering, has gone on to top several more podiums, including the Tauranga Half just a few weeks ago. Her fastest run split in an Ironman to date? 3:04:53, which she posted en route to her victory at Ironman Cairns last June.
Sika Henry
The marathon: Tidewater Strider Marathon, 2020
The time: 2:57.13
Not only is Henry the first Black woman to become a pro triathlete, but she is also one of some 30 U.S.-born black women to break three hours in the marathon. While training and racing as an age-group triathlete, Henry posted her PR while winning the Tidewater Strider race in Chesapeake, Virginia. After earning her pro card in 2021, Henry eclipsed the three-hour barrier again, running 2:59.58 at the Houston Marathon, six weeks after setting the Virginia state record for 100K with a time of 8:34:20.
Honorable half-marathon mentions
Morgan Pearson
The half-marathon: Houston Half Marathon, 2025
The time: 1:01:01
Pearson, an Olympic medalist in the mixed relay event in both Paris and Tokyo was a standout runner prior to joining triathlon’s elite – and he’s never lost his talent for the roads. In January, the 31-year-old dropped a seven-second PR over 13.1 miles on a speedy day where Conner Mantz broke the American Record at the front of the race (59:17). Despite the personal best, Pearson, who placed 15th, remarked after the race that he was hoping for more, saying “his legs just weren’t there.” A few weeks later, he raced the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi, finishing 19th in the men’s sprint distance race and second in the mixed relay.
Emma Pallant-Browne
The half-marathon: South African Half Marathon Championships, 2023
The time: 1:11:34
Deep in a triathlon season that included five 70.3 podium finishes (and just two weeks after a win at 70.3 Pays d’Aix), Pallant popped over to South Africa to rub elbows with some of the world’s fastest runners in the half-marathon distance. Her finishing time, a new PR averaging 5:27 miles), was good enough for 11th place.
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