➡️ This week’s newsletter includes the latest race results, a guide to smarter cross-training, upcoming marathons across the U.S., and a featured race worth adding to your calendar. Plus, you can now claim your race results and build your personal MarathonGuide profile.
Most marathon training plans carve out one or two days a week labeled simply: cross-training. What fills that slot varies wildly. Some runners clip into a spin bike. Some swim laps. Some load a barbell. Some roll out a mat and call it recovery. The implicit assumption is that any of these activities serves the same purpose — giving your legs a break while keeping the engine running.
That assumption is only half right. Yes, cross-training protects your joints from the cumulative load of high-mileage running. But the activities are not interchangeable. Some carry over directly to marathon performance. Others are pleasant but largely irrelevant to your race day goals. And one — strength training — is probably the most underprescribed tool in the serious recreational runner’s toolkit, despite a mountain of evidence supporting it.
This article ranks the four most common cross-training modalities by how much they actually improve marathon performance. Each ranking is grounded in the physiology and biomechanics of running — not preference, not tradition, not what feels like a workout. If your goal is a faster marathon, this is the framework for choosing where to spend your non-running hours.
This section is sponsored by:
⭐️ 10/17/2026 - Mankato Marathon - Mankato, MN
⭐️ 11/14/2026 - Rivers & Rails Marathon - Brunswick, MD
🏞 FLAT & FAST COURSES - Best for PRs and Boston Qualifiers
Jul 25–26 - Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon — Riverpoint, WA
Jul 26 - The San Francisco Marathon — San Francisco, CA
Aug 2 - Camarillo Marathon — Camarillo, CA
⭐️ SCENIC & DESTINATION RACES - Worth the travel
Jul 26 - The San Francisco Marathon — San Francisco, CA
Jul 26 - Rapid City Marathon — Rapid City, SD
Jul 26 - Run for the Elk Race Festival — Emporium, PA
Aug 1 - Aspen Backcountry Marathon — Aspen, CO
Aug 2 - Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon — Rachel, NV
📢 TRAIL & ULTRA RACES - For runners who prefer dirt, distance, or both
Jul 25 - Burning River Marathon — Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Aug 1 - Moorehead Park Trail Mazathon Marathon — Ida Grove, IA
Aug 1 - Tushars Ultras Marathon — Beaver, UT
Aug 1 - Point Mariah Trail Marathon — Soda Springs, CA
Aug 2 - Badger Trail Races Marathon — Belleville, WI
On Saturday, October 10, 2026, running enthusiasts from across the Mid-South and beyond are invited to “Mississippi’s Front Porch” to participate in Hernando’s 17th Annual Water Tower 10K & Half Marathon road race. This beloved event highlights the charm of Hernando’s historic districts and one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, the Hernando Water Tower.
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This weekend’s slate ran the full spectrum of what the sport looks and feels like — a fast Atlantic road race where two men went stride-for-stride through 26.2 miles, a rugged Montana trail with barely a dozen finishers, a scenic Idaho course delivering the weekend’s quickest winning time, and a high-altitude Colorado grind where just finishing is the headline. Here’s what happened.
Keep your running history organized in one place. Create a free MarathonGuide account, then click “Claim” next to your race result to add it to your personal profile. Once claimed, your results are saved in a single location, making it easy to track your race history, celebrate your progress, and build your running record over time.
Step into a race steeped in local tradition with the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon. Set in the vibrant community of Bemidji, Minnesota, this marathon offers a course that meanders through scenic lakeside views, dense forests, and charming small‑town streets. Runners appreciate the predominantly flat layout with subtle, rolling hills that provide natural pacing opportunities, along with the unique cultural heritage and friendly local support that have made this event a beloved tradition in the Upper Midwest.
There’s a certain kind of race that doesn’t need to be famous. It doesn’t need a city skyline backdrop or a field of 30,000 strangers. What it needs is a flat, fast course, a community that actually shows up, and a reason to go 26.2 miles rather than stay in bed on a Saturday morning.
The inaugural Sunbury Marathon — set for Saturday, September 12, 2026, in Sunbury, Ohio — has all three. And for runners chasing a Boston qualifier in the back half of the year, it deserves a hard look.
Thanks for reading 🤍
MarathonGuide Team
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