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Emma Bates

@emmajanelbates

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Certified Marathoner
📍MN —> Boulder
Run Hard. Have Fun.
@flynnsports @asics

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@nycmarathon T-6. 10 days in Boulder that healed my soul.

writing this little poem had me realise how far I’ve come this year and how much I have invested into my relationship with running. Some months ago I would have not thought that I would be training or running - let alone standing at the start line of a marathon - . healthy, better and stronger than ever. It’s all surreal in a way.

some seasons in life we just have to wrestle harder with our demons eh?

i’m just looking back at the past 10 days in Boulder and all i feel is love for this life. I’ve really been going reflecting on the ups and downs this year and putting final touches on my training.

New York is coming and all i know is that I am excited, scared and that I love this sport more than ever before and as my friends Brian and Erin put it today: “You are scared because you are doing something you have never done before and that you care deeply about.” Giddy up!

i’ve started to write again but mostly I was just happy and blessed to share this space with great human beings 🤍🫂 @schroy @osbuena @matthewlukemeyer @steve__finley @emmajanelbates thanks for making this a home away from home. It's healing to be with you.

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The Running Game Show was an idea I had many years ago after I overheard a person calling runners boring. And I thought, well if we only give them panels about nutrition and mileage then yeah, I guess you could see it that way. But as you have shown me, you also have a great sense of humor!

The game show has accomplished the 3 major things:

- Give runners a place to relax, laugh, and forget about their race day nerves while SITTING
- Give us all the chance to get to know the ASICS professional team. These pros are typically only ever asked about their training and they are so much more than that.
- Give back to the cities we visit. Through ticket and merch sales, we were able to donate more than $14,000 this year to local food banks and other charities. Much of that is due to the generosity of ASICS for designing and printing the shirts and eating the cost.

I’m so incredibly grateful to the comics, pros, and friends who have been contestants. They often say ‘yes’ before they even know what they are agreeing to. And of course, to my first love in the running world, @asics . For understanding that community can be built in a dark room of laughing people. Comedy has never been more important and yes, even us boring runners deserve to have it.

To all of you who attended the Laugh Track Tour this year, thank you 🙏. I hope you had as much fun as me.

Dare I ask…where should we go next year??

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Misery loves company #softhour 🌧️ ☔️ 📸 @steve__finley

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5 marathons, more half marathons than I can count, 23 years with T1D, and approximately one million blood sugar decisions later, these are some of the reminders I wish someone had told me before I ran my first marathon.

Save this for race morning or send it to a fellow T1D runner who needs the reminder.

And to everyone racing this fall, I’m cheering SO loudly for you! 🥹

#diabetes #marathon #t1d #t1diabetes #diabetic

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@emmajanelbates was the top US finisher at both the 2019 and 2021 @chimarathon, earning runner-up honors in 2021

#ChicagoMarathon #USATF

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Back home in Indy. 🏁

Neversecond athlete Emma Grace Hurley recently returned to Indianapolis fresh off an incredible performance at the World Road Running Championships, finishing 5th overall in the half marathon in 1:06:23, moving her to No. 3 all-time among US women and helping Team USA earn silver.

In this short segment, @emmagracehurley shares how she approaches the start line and those critical early miles of the @indymonumental course.

What’s your process at the start line? How do you keep yourself from going out too hard in the opening miles?

Drop it in the comments👇

Want to know all of Emma Grace’s tips and tricks? Hit the link.

🎥 @mikelee_productions

#sciencefirst #neversecond #indymonumental #emmagracehurley

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I officially threw my name in the hat for the 2027 Boston Marathon!!! 🦄💙💛

Which feels a little surreal because for most of my life, anytime someone asked if I’d ever run a marathon, my answer was a very quick “NO” followed by a laugh. 😂

Being married to someone who trained at the elite level and competed in the Olympic Marathon Trials, I saw firsthand what marathon training required—and in the chaos of motherhood, it never felt doable for me.

Then I watched my beast of a husband run Boston in 2025.

I went into that weekend with zero expectations and left with a completely full cup. Runners are truly some of the kindest humans, and being surrounded by so many incredible athletes brought the BEST energy. Watching Joe dominate the hills of Boston and run through Heartbreak quite literally changed something in me.

I went from “I’m not sure I’ll ever run a marathon” to “I will do whatever it takes to run this race next year.”

The very next week, I registered for a last-chance marathon in Grand Rapids. Boston registration happens every September for the following April, so if I wanted a chance at 2026, I had to train through a Florida summer. 😅

Training for my first marathon was already daunting. Doing it through extreme heat and humidity felt even crazier. But my sweet friend @jamie.l.rogers.10 reminded me that our bodies are capable of so much more than we think: hydrate, fuel well, get out early and keep showing up.

And somehow, it all came together. I truly felt God’s covering over that entire summer.

After multiple 20–23 mile long runs, I showed up to a 38-degree morning in Grand Rapids and ran four-mile loops that allowed me to see my family six times. I crossed the finish line of my very first marathon in 3:21:58—more than three minutes under my Boston qualifying standard.

I didn’t even know if I could finish a marathon. And suddenly, I had qualified for Boston. 🥹 Or so I thought… 😢

Then, two weeks later, we learned the cutoff was 4:34 under the standard. I missed it by just over 90 seconds—about three seconds per mile.

I was crushed. I had a really good cry…and then decided to try again.

Four months later, by the grace of God and with the s

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The four-year Olympic cycle leaves women runners just enough time to have a baby and still make the Trials—but it only works with the right support and a body that cooperates.

In Issue 004, Joanna Thompson (@jojofoshosho0) talked to runners trying to thread that needle, including Grayson Murphy, Tristin Colley, and Amy Davis-Green, about what’s changing for pros navigating pregnancy in their prime.

📤 Share this with a runner who needs it.

Read the full story in Issue 004 (link in bio).

📷: @cortneywhite_; courtesy of @tristinvanord; courtesy of @corosglobal; courtesy of @brooksrunning

#womensrunning #motherrunner #la2028

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6.2 13.1 26.2 70.3 140.6

Whatever your distance, we’ve got a plan.

Link in Bio > RACE GUIDES

DM us your questions 👇

#sciencefirst
#raceguides
#neversecond

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3 weeks to @chimarathon!! ❤️✨

#chicago #chicagomarathon #roadtochicago #chicagomarathon2026 #marathon

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part 2 because apparently I have more opinions 😏

let’s train SMARTER fam!!

if you’re looking for a 1:1 coach, slide into my DMs or send me an email. I’d love to help you reach your goals 🤝

#marathontraining #chicagomarathon #runcoach #runningtips #trainsmarter

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