“So it’s just incredible to see the excitement that people have for the whale and doing this very silly, absurd event,” said Jackson Bradshaw, co-founder of the Whaleathon.
Running 26.2 miles around a four-hundredths-of-a-mile roundabout sounds less like an athletic triumph and more like an endurance test. Yet, on Oct. 24, runners did precisely that, circling Salt Lake City’s iconic “Out of the Blue” whale roughly 630 times to complete a full marathon.
From Early-Morning Joke to Annual Tradition
What started as an early-morning joke among four friends in 2023 has officially transformed into an annual endurance tradition. Organizers even closed the road this year to accommodate the growing crowd of runners willing to tackle the dizzying monotony of the course.
“One of our friends was on a run, and the whale was just recently put in, and they started running around it and just thought of the idea: What if we ran an entire marathon in this roundabout?” Bradshaw said.
Civic Devotion to an Aquatic Leviathan
The whale statue itself has dominated the landscape of Salt Lake City’s 9th and 9th neighborhood since its installation in 2022. This particular aquatic leviathan has inspired a decidedly physical form of civic devotion.
“Showed up one morning early, just the four of us in the dark, and just ran for hours on end around the whale,” recalled Wyn Barnett, describing the inaugural 2023 outing.
A Starkly Different Sensory Experience
Most marathons take runners across miles of changing scenery. The Whaleathon offers a starkly different sensory experience where the view doesn’t change much.
“It’s monotonous, but it’s fun. And it’s nice to just be able to talk to people and have your aid station anytime you want it, the bathroom anytime you want it,” Barnett noted.
Logistical Convenience on a Tiny Loop
The logistical convenience of a tiny loop is hard to overstate. Runners never have to worry about getting lost on a sprawling urban course or navigating miles of transit closures far from home base. Your support crew never has to drive across town to track your split times; they can simply stand in one spot and hand you a cup of water every few minutes.
The Challenge Remains Open
For those who missed the official group event on Oct. 24, the challenge remains permanently open. Organizers permit anyone to complete the 630-lap course on their own schedule and submit their final tracking results directly through the official Whaleathon website.
