9 Celebs Who Ran Marathons

Including one who compared it to giving birth
By Margeaux Klein,  Newser User
Posted Nov 6, 2016 4:39 PM CST
9 Celebs Who Ran Marathons
Actress Katie Holmes crosses the finish line at the New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Each fall, a new crop of celebrities prepares to run the New York Marathon. On Sunday, spectators and fellow runners might have caught a glimpse of Sean Astin or Tiki Barber, among others, during the 26.2 mile course, but they're hardly the first stars to attempt a marathon run:

  1. Pamela Anderson: The former Baywatch actress ran the New York Marathon in 2013 at a time of 5:41 and compared the pain she felt during the last five miles of the race to that of giving birth.
  2. Jared Fogle: The disgraced Subway spokesman, who's now serving a 15-year prison sentence, crossed the 2010 New York Marathon finish line at 5:13.
  3. Oprah Winfrey: After making a personal vow to run a marathon by the time she was 40, the former talk show host ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994 in four hours, 29 minutes. "I don't care who you are, what religion you are, about the 22nd mile, you start calling on Jesus," she's said of her experience.
  4. Ryan Reynolds: "I finished [the race] 30 minutes faster than I thought I would," the heartthrob told Men's Health of his 2008 New York Marathon time of 3:20. "And an hour after that, I thought I would have to go to the hospital."

  1. Natalie Dormer: The Game of Thrones actress ran the 2014 and 2016 London Marathons with finish times of 3:50 and 3:51, respectively. In 2015, she had planned to run the New York Marathon but withdrew unexpectedly.
  2. Sean Combs: "I've never experienced mental or physical pain like that," P. Diddy said of his 4:14 New York Marathon finish time in 2003.
  3. Will Ferrell: The funny man has been an avid runner for years and has completed three marathons—New York, Stockholm, and Boston in 2003, where he achieved a PR of 3:56.
  4. Ethan Hawke: In 2015, the actor ran the New York Marathon in 4:25 and claimed that all the attention he received certainly didn't help when his muscles started to cramp up.
  5. Katie Holmes: The actress reportedly ran the New York Marathon in 2007 with a time of 5:29, but that didn't stop conspiracy theorists from speculating that she somehow faked it.
Click to read about more celebrities who ran a marathon or find out what famous person's son ran the New York Marathon this year in honor of his dad. (More marathon stories.)

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