At 62 years old, Mike Knobler crossed a finish line in Bear Lake, Idaho on June 5, 2026 — raised a triumphant fist in the air, shook hands with strangers who had become friends over 26.2 miles, and completed one of the most remarkable achievements in masters running: a marathon in all 50 states.
What makes it even more extraordinary? He didn’t start running until he was 40.
22 Years. 55 Pounds. 50 States.
Knobler, a former sports writer turned international tax attorney who once covered Mississippi sports for the Clarion Ledger, picked up running at 40 — not exactly typical timing for someone who would go on to run 57 marathons. When he laced up for that first race, he was about 55 pounds heavier. Today, at 62, he won the 60-70 age group at the Bear Lake Idaho Marathon, finishing in 3 hours and 56 minutes on a hilly course at 6,000 feet of elevation.
He’s not from an athletic family. His parents are former UCLA physics and chemistry professors. “Mine is not an athletic family,” he said. “We’ve been watchers, rather than doers. I think my marathon running has made me kind of a curiosity to them.”
That curiosity has covered a lot of ground. Beyond the 50 state marathons, Knobler has run Boston three times and completed 57 marathons in total — every single one of them finished. He has never DNF’d.
“It’s weird, because I am not your traditional goals-setting person. I usually adapt rather than commit, but this is the exception. It feels good. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment. I surely didn’t expect to do this when I started running. But once I got about halfway through the states, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, yeah, I can do this.'”
— Mike Knobler, after completing his 50th state marathon
He Flies Himself to the Races. Literally.
Here’s the detail that makes Knobler truly unlike any runner you’ve ever heard of: for most of his marathons, he has flown himself to and from the race in his own plane — a single-engine Mooney M20J. It’s the same aircraft he once used to fly around Mississippi and the Deep South to cover sports events as a journalist. The plane is part of his identity as a runner, a journalist, and now, an adventurer.
What’s Next: 26 Marathons. 26 Countries. 26 Weeks.
If completing 50 marathons in 50 states sounds ambitious, what Knobler has planned next is almost incomprehensible. After Bear Lake, he flew his Mooney across Canada and across the Atlantic — to Greenland, then to Finland — where he began running 25 marathons in 25 consecutive weeks, in 25 different countries. Combined with Bear Lake, that’s 26 marathons in 26 weeks in 26 countries. All at age 62. All flying solo in his own plane.
The schedule reads like a bucket list for a small continent: Finland → Norway (Midnight Sun Marathon) → Belgium → Austria → Montenegro → England → Germany → Wales → Isle of Man → Denmark → Iceland → Sweden → Ireland → Moldova → Czech Republic → Poland → Netherlands → Hungary → Slovenia → Morocco → Turkey → Greece (Athens, on the original marathon course) → Cyprus → Spain → France.
He has retired from lawyering — at least for now — closed his Malibu apartment, put his furniture in storage, and taken off. There is no home base. Just the Mooney, the miles, and whatever country is next.
“You don’t have to be a great athlete to run marathons. You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
— Mike Knobler
The Hardest Challenges Ahead
Knobler says the biggest running challenge won’t be the frequency — he already ran three marathons on three consecutive Saturdays last year. The real test will be three trail marathons, including one in Montenegro where the elevation rises 6,000 feet over the course of the race. Race organizers impose a nine-hour time limit. “A whole different kettle of fish,” he calls them.
His goals are refreshingly practical: “My goal for the trail marathons is to put in reasonable effort and have some fun. My goal for all the road marathons is to finish in under four hours.” That would keep his record perfect — 57 starts, 57 finishes.
After Europe, his itinerary takes him through Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Japan — and finally Alaska, where weather prevents the Pacific crossing until May.
When asked what comes after all of that, his answer is perfectly on-brand: he doesn’t know. “I usually adapt rather than commit,” he says. Which, given everything, seems to be working out just fine.
Mike Knobler’s story was originally reported by Rick Cleveland for Mississippi Today. Photo: Tyler Cleveland.