Bob Mann: 2026 Oklahoma City Marathon

Sun Apr 26, 2026

On Sun Apr 26 2026, I ran the Oklahoma City Marathon in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It had been more than 6 months since my last marathon, which is now perhaps normal for me. For many years, I had consistently been doing 3 to 4 marathons per year. But now it seems to be one every six months or so. At this rate, it might be unlikely that I make it all the way through the states for a second time. But we'll see. For now, I will keep moving forward whenever I can.

My first marathon in Oklahoma was all the way back in 2008. That was the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa. This marathon in 2026 was my 66th overall marathon. So 66 seems to be my magic number for Oklahoma.

The race was a memorial for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. I must say that the race -- and the entire city -- did a fantastic job of memorializing those victims and keeping their memories alive. The start line of the race was at Ground Zero, where there is presently a very nice monument and a museum remembering the tragedy. Before the race, they held a moment of silence for 168 seconds -- one second for every victim. That moment of silence was very powerful, considering that there were reported to be about 30,000 runners participating in the events that day. That's a lot of people staying quiet for nearly 3 minutes.

Yes, this was a large event. In addition to the Full Marathon, there was a Half Marathon and a Quarter Marathon. The latter is a rather oddball distance. Not very popular, since it's not much different than a 10k. But it's what they had here. Oklahoma City is a sneaky-big city. As of this writing, it is listed as the 20th most-populated city in the US, with more people than Washington DC, Boston, Nashville, or Detroit. So it was a big event in a big city.

My level of training had been okay leading up to the race. Not significantly more or less than I had been doing for the previous few years. I had completed a Half Marathon in Asbury Park NJ two weeks earlier, and was pleased with the results there. I had finished that race in just under two hours. While that was one of my slowest-ever Half Marathon times, I felt good the whole time and was pleased with my consistent pace. As I get older, I know that I will inevitably slow down, and that's fine. This gave me confidence that I would be okay for this Full Marathon in OKC. I knew I wouldn't be fast, but I was confident that I could finish.

Temps were pleasant early on race morning, but that meant they'd get warm as the morning progressed. Skies were overcast, but the sun would poke out as the day went on. Thus, conditions were decent, but not perfect. I was worried that the heat and/or sun would become a problem for me later on. In recent years I haven't done so well in marathons on warm days, such as in South Dakota in 2022. So I was prepared for a slow race. Thankfully I don't really care about my time any more. All I want to do is finish and check off another state.

The race began at 6:30am in front of the Memorial. With 30,000 runners all starting at one time, it took quite a long time for everyone to get across the start line. I didn't get across the start line until 6:56am, and there were still plenty of runners behind me. Because of the dense crowd, I got off to a rather slow start. My first mile was completed in 10:18. The second mile was 9:41, which isn't exactly speedy, but it ended up being my fastest of the day. There was once a time when I could do an entire marathon with no mile slower than that, but this is apparently now my fastest split for a marathon.

By Mile 10, I was slower than 10 minutes/mile for good. My time at the halfway point was about 2:15, which might be the slowest I've ever been at a halfway point. And of course, I would only slow down from there. As the morning went on, the temperatures continued to rise, and the sun would occasionally peek out from the clouds. All the elements seems right for a total meltdown on my part. But it didn't happen. I actually kept feeling pretty good. I was slow, yes. But I guess I found the right recipe. I kept it slow, and I felt fine.

I finished the race in a time of 4:54, which ends up being my third-slowest marathon. But unlike some of my other slow ones, I didn't feel like I wanted to puke, nor was I overly sore and/or cramped up. All in all, I'm happy with the result. I think I'd rather have a slow race feeling good than a slightly faster one feeling like crap. The most important thing is that I checked off another state (again), and lived to see another day.

I'll give the OKC Marathon a nice thumb's up. The start line was a bit chaotic, but there really weren't any issues. There was plenty of crowd support along the way. The aid stations were plentiful and well-stocked. The course was mostly scenic, and we didn't go through any slums or ugly industrial areas -- which has often been a complaint of mine during big-city races. Overall it was an enjoyable race and an enjoyable weekend. Kudos to Oklahoma City.

And now the photos. Click any image to enlarge.