BEAR LAKE, Idaho – These fingers last typed about my good friend and former Clarion Ledger co-worker Mike Knobler in February of 2022. Mike had returned to Mississippi to run in the Mississippi Blues Marathon, which he completed, making Mississippi the 36th state in which he had successfully run a 26.2 mile race.
You can read that column here, and it will give you some needed background about why I write about him again today. You see, that’s when Mike, a former sports writer-turned-international tax attorney, told me he was getting close to his goal of running marathons in all 50 states. Thirty-six down, 14 to go, he told me. And that’s when I told him that should he make it to 50, I’d be there.
Rick ClevelandSo here we were, on a sunny Friday morning where Mike, at age 62, finished the hilly Bear Lake Idaho Marathon course, all 26.2 miles with a view of the lovely, aqua waters of Bear Lake and with the scenic Bear River Mountains serving as a backdrop. The race was run at an elevation of 6,000 feet, adding to the course’s difficulty, but Mike finished smiling and raising a triumphant fist. He won the 60-70 age group’s first prize, finishing in 3 hours, 56 minutes.
“Beautiful course, lots of hills,” he said, after shaking hands and sharing sweaty hugs with well-wishers. The race director/announcer made a big deal about Mike having completed the 50-state achievement, which led to cheering and to other runners, mostly much younger than he, approaching to congratulate him. The guess here is if you’ve just run a 26.2 miles, you really appreciate someone who has done it over 50 times in all 50 states.
Later, I asked Mike how it felt to achieve such a remarkable goal, all the more impressive when you realize he did not start running until he was 40, 22 years and about 55 pounds ago. He thought for a few seconds before answering.
“It’s weird, because I am not your traditional goals-setting person,” he said. “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.'”
And so he has. He has also run seven additional marathons for 57 total, including Boston three times. For most of these marathons, he has flown his own plane to and from. It’s the same plane — a single engine, Mooney M20J – he once flew around Mississippi and the Deep South to cover sports events.
I asked him how his aging parents, both former UCLA physics/chemistry professors, felt about his accomplishment.
“It’s weird,” he answered. “Mine is not an athletic family. We’ve been watchers, rather than doers. I think my marathon running has made me kind of a curiosity to them. Come to think of it, I think maybe I am a curiosity to a lot of people.”
Mike Knobler, right, shares a fist bump with longtime friend Rick Cleveland, on Friday, June 5, 2026, in Bear Lake, Idaho. Credit: Tyler ClevelanIf he has been a curiosity until now, wait until you learn what is next for Mike Knobler: 26 countries.
After spending Friday night in nearby Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mike flew his Mooney into and across Canada. From near the northeastern tip of Canada, he will fly across the Atlantic to Greenland and from there to Finland, where next Saturday he will begin his next goal, 25 marathons in 25 weeks, in 25 different countries. Over the next 11 months, he plans to literally fly around the world.
The marathon schedule is mind-boggling: from Finland, to Norway (the Midnight Sun Marathon), to Belgium, to Austria, to Montenegro, to England, to Germany, to Wales, to the Isle of Man, to Denmark, to Iceland, to Sweden, to Ireland, to Moldova, to the Czech Republic, to Poland, to the Netherlands, to Hungary, to Slovenia, to Morocco (Casablanca), to Turkey, to Greece (Athens, where he will run the original marathon course), to Cyprus, to Spain, to France. Counting the Bear Lake Marathon, that will make 26 marathons in 26 weeks, in 26 countries, all run by a 62-year-old man, flying from race to race in his own plane. What’s your hobby?
“You don’t have to be a great athlete to run marathons,” Mike said. “You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
To do it for half a year – 26 times in 26 countries, you also have to be retired. Mike has retired – at least for now – from lawyering. Until last Thursday, he lived in Malibu. But he closed down his apartment, put his furniture in storage and has headed off into an adventure most of us can only imagine.
Danny Knobler, his older brother, was here to see him complete his 50 in 50 goal and will fly with him to Finland for the first European marathon, but Mike will travel the rest solo. You should know that Danny, formerly an accomplished baseball writer, now lives in Thailand where he owns a sports bar. These Knoblers live interesting lives.
Mike Knobler’s medal for winning his age division in the Bear Lake Marathon in Idaho, on Friday, June 5, 2026. Credit: Tyler ClevelandAfter 26 marathons in 26 weeks, Mike’s plan is to see much of the rest of the world. His tentative itinerary will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, back to Australia, Philippines, Japan and, finally, Alaska. Because of weather, the flight from Japan to Alaska can’t happen before May, so he’ll have December until May to visit those countries.
His biggest challenge running-wise over the next 25 weeks? Surprisingly, he says it’s not running a marathon every week. He already accomplished three marathons in three weeks last year, running marathons in Connecticut, Minnesota and Iowa on consecutive Saturdays.
No, the biggest challenge will come in three trail marathons, which he calls “a whole different kettle of fish.” Those marathons will be run on difficult terrain, rather than paved roads, forcing him to often change stride and direction to avoid obstacles and keep his balance to avoid falling. One of the trail marathons is in Montenegro, where the elevation rise 6,000 feet during the course of the race. That’s equivalent to going up about 600 flights of uneven stairs over 26.2 miles. The course is so difficult that race organizers place a nine-hour time limit on participants.
Mike believes he can do it. “My goal for the trail marathons is to put in reasonable effort and have some fun,” he said. “My goal for all the road marathons is to finish in under four hours.”
That would keep his record perfect. He has started 57 marathons. He has finished 57 marathons.
Flying-wise, the biggest challenge is the last leg, from Japan to Alaska. “Getting across the Pacific is the biggest challenge of flying around the world,” he says, and I’ll take his word for it.
“Russia could make it easier, but they won’t,” Mike said.
WIth this adventure in mind, Mike changed his four-seat Mooney into a two-seat plane. What was once the back two seats now holds a 150-gallon ferry gas tank.
You may wonder, as I, what Mike plans to do next after 50 marathons in 50 states and then 25 marathons in 25 weeks in 25 countries?
The answer? He doesn’t know. Remember, this sports writer-turned-lawyer’s nature is to adapt, rather than commit. Safe to say, he adapts – and at least once commits – quite well.
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Read more about Mike Knobler’s marathoning here.
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