On Saturday, Wyn Barnett, Jackson Bradshaw, Evan Service and Caleb Leftwich descended on Salt Lake City’s favorite art installation — the Ninth and Ninth whale — and ran 630 laps around it, 26.2 miles total, for the first-ever Whaleathon.
It was not the first nontraditional marathon. Runners have done marathons on indoor tracks, in a motocross arena and in a gymnasium. But this is likely the first, and only, 26.2-mile race to loop around a colorful whale in a land-locked state.
We spoke with Whaleathon founder Wyn Barnett to find out how and why he and his friends spent their Saturday running in a circle.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Deseret News: First and most importantly: why?
Wyn Barnett: The short (answer) is just because it’s a ridiculous thing to say that you’ve done. The long answer is that my friend Jackson was going to run the Salt Lake Marathon with us this year. But he had to back out last minute due to some work travel. We suggested just running around the whale, then it kind of just became a thing that Jackson agreed to, and then we all committed to getting done.
But probably first and foremost, is just because it’s absurd. It’s a ridiculous thing to add to the resume of ridiculous endurance activities.
DN: OK, tell me about the race course.
WB: It’s 630 laps, .04 of a mile per lap. So it’s 24 laps to a mile. Since it angles outward convexly from the whale, we switched directions every 30 minutes to try to do less damage to our knees, ankles and hips.
DN: How far into it did you start to regret running the Whaleathon?
WB: Mile 16ish, when I realized there were 200-plus more laps. That was like, “Oh my gosh, this is not cool.” Miles 22 to 26 in any marathon are going to be a slog, but it was just like, “Please, I want to get off of this ride. This isn’t fun anymore.”
DN: How did you train for this?
WB: We set a date for Oct. 21 and then just committed to getting it done. And, you know, making a training plan and following through with the training. It was pretty informal. The main goal was just to actually be able to get it done. Whether that was walking for big chunks of it or whatever.
DN: You ran the Denver Marathon in 2019, and the Salt Lake Marathon in 2022 and 2023. How did the Whaleathon compare?
WB: It was definitely more memorable, and more challenging in some ways, but also surprisingly less challenging in other ways, which I did not expect. Sometimes during a marathon, it can be kind of demoralizing when you come around the corner and you see a long straightaway. You might know how much longer you actually have, which can kind of be discouraging at times, especially at the back half of the run.
During the Whaleathon I kind of fell into a trance and zoned out running in circles. Which comes with its own challenges, certainly, but the challenge is less of something like a long hill I have up ahead (that) I know I have to get to the top of that. It’s more of like, all right, another couple laps, just checking them off.
I had a lot of fun. The whole day was just fun, even when it wasn’t fun. It was still fun just because of the absurdity. We were really out there doing this with cars driving by and honking and giving us high-fives.
DN: What were the specific challenges of running 630 laps?
WB: Remembering to click our little clickers was a challenge. We bought those little clickers that you might see the people checking you in at Costco clicking you as you come through the door. So remembering to do that when we were tired and suffering was a challenge. The angle of the course was a challenge. I started to feel blisters forming on my feet in the back half. Caleb was having some pretty bad knee pain. Both Evan and Jackson switched their shoes in the middle of the race from super fancy race shoes to shoes a little more forgiving for their ankles.
DN: Did you get dizzy?
WB: Surprisingly, no. And that’s a question a lot of people ask. But I think the lap is just big enough to not really get dizzy.
DN: Part of what makes a marathon a marathon is this horde of volunteers who descend on a city and set up hydration and nutrition stops and port-a-potties. How did you guys function without those things in place?
WB: We were the volunteers. It was very self-sufficient. We had a cooler at the base of the whale and had everything we needed. We kept it very lean. We did have spectators. We had family and friends come by. Random runners would come by and hop in for a loop or two. We tried to convince them to run a few more than just the single loop as they ran by but it was a tough sell. There were lots of people waiting for coffee at the coffee shop on the corner. The spectator turnout was nice and definitely helped motivate us. Like any other marathon, it’s exhilarating and motivating to have people there.
DN: Beyond spectators, what was the reaction from the community?
WB: During the run my wife sent me a screenshot of a post on Reddit asking about the Whale runners. The post read, “Does anyone know what’s going on with these guys running loops around the Whale right now?” It’s not every day you see people running loop after loop for hours on end around the whale roundabout. The primary reaction was just curiosity — what are you doing? And why are you doing this? And do you get dizzy? And then the second reaction was, “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard about.”
DN: How did you feel when you finished the race?
WB: Glad that it was over, and never again. That’s a one-and-done for me. I would love to see other people do it. I really would. But yeah, I don’t know that I would do it again. I mean, you’re asking like two days after the event and it’s a tough sell right now to commit to doing it again.
DN: What would you say to convince someone to run the Whaleathon?
WB: You know, you’re making history. It’s a ridiculous, absurd thing that you’ll feel a nice, sense of accomplishment upon completing. You’ll never think of that intersection the same way again.
DN: If anyone does decide to run their own Whalethon, what steps should they take?
WB: They should submit their photos and links to their tracking app on our website. They should prepare for a marathon because it’s still a long grind. Even though it’s contained, you’re traveling a long ways. So prepare accordingly.
Understand your own ability, and then show up, Then grind it out. Commit to getting it done and just don’t think too much about the laps once you hit 400 would be my advice.
