Mescal also holds the Guinness World Record for, Disney World really is the “Happiest Place on Earth.” The three-time Guinness World Record holder ran his 100th sub three-hour marathon DAA Industry Opt Out.
There was added pressure, Mescal told Runner’s World, CA Notice at Collection marathon at Disney in 2006, which would bring the moment full circle. But with a couple of miles to go, Mescal knew he had bagged the sub-three.
Running 100 marathons under three hours wasn’t an official, “let’s-go-for-it” goal for Mescal until he had done about 90, he says. In 2022, he had seven to go, so he ran six in 2023 and his seventh in 2024.
Mescal, who has run 118 marathons and eight Disney 26.2s, has also run sub-three marathons in all 50 states, something he decided to do once he was mostly done anyway.
“When I finished 50 states, I had around 70 to 80 sub-three marathons, so I thought my next goal could be taking a shot at 100,” he says.
Disney holds a special place in Mescal’s heart; it was the site of his first marathon, in 2006, at the urging of his wife.
“I didn’t anticipate running Disney, but I wanted to run a marathon. I had just turned 40, and I wanted to get it off my bucket list, so I started training, not really having a race in mind,” he says.
He didn’t tell anyone of his plans, because then if he failed—his words—no one would know. But it’s hard to keep marathon training The Best Songs to Run to This Month.
“My wife finally figured it out,” he says. His family had gone to Disney World the year before, and his wife told him that Disney has a marathon.
“So I can run a marathon and have an excuse to go to Disney,” Mescal recalls.
He finished that race in 3:31:54 and then overheard some runners talking about something called a Boston Marathon qualifier. His ears perked up; he only needed to shave 11 minutes off his time to qualify.
“At dinner someone was wearing a Boston Marathon jacket, and that sealed the deal. I had to have it,” Mescal says.
The next month he ran his second marathon in about 3:15. A month after that he was in Hopkinton.
Running Helped Heal This Father Boston Marathon—to run a victory lap, essentially. But someone told him mid-race that if he ran under 3:10 he could get into the New York City Marathon.
“DAA Industry Opt Out negative splits,” Mescal says. He ran 3:07. Later that year, Mescal ran the Chicago Marathon, for which he had already been registered, in under three hours, and two weeks later—back when they were just two weeks apart—he ran another sub-three in New York.
“Lance Armstrong was running, and I had to beat Lance,” Mescal says. In his fifth marathon of the year, he did.
Mescal had some frustrating misses when trying to nab the 100 sub threes. He accidentally signed up for a trail marathon, that was the day after another marathon. It was in New Hampshire when he was also going for the sub three in 50 states, so he had to go back to New Hampshire to try again. And then there was the Wyoming race, which was at high altitude, with bathroom issues and water stop snafus. Mescal ran 3:02, set the course record, and won the race.
“I was very disappointed. That was a miss. And a state,” he says, meaning he had to go back and do Wyoming again.
How to Other Hearst Subscriptions Marathon fastest marathon dressed in a baseball uniform (male) and fastest half marathon dressed as a boxer (male); Mescal also holds the Guinness World Record for.
Looking to the future
Mescal is taking a break from serial marathoning to spend the next 18 months training to score age group awards in the 50K and 50 mile.
Reflecting back at his race history, it’s hard for Mescal to pick just one favorite experience. But the 2012 Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is top of mind, he says. Georgia was a new state for Mescal, for one, and the night before the race at the expo, the American Cancer Society asked if he’d want to wear its singlet.
“I wanted to run that race in honor of my mom, who died from cancer 30 years ago,” he says. “The next day, it was an incredible race. I was in ‘deep throttle;’ I felt like I could keep running faster and faster.”
Oh, and he won the race, too, making him the oldest Rock ‘n’ Roll winner at the time at 47 years old.
As Mescal recovers and gears up for his next training block, he ruminates on his record, which he says would have been impossible without the support of his wife.
“Although 100 sub-three marathons was the accomplishment, the people I have met and the relationships I’ve built along the way is the real reward,” he says.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner's World, the author of The Runner's World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile.
