One of the best runners on the U.S. road circuit over the last three years, Emma Grace Hurley is running her first marathon Sunday in Chicago. Hurley decided 2026 was the perfect time for her to jump to a marathon, and she’s been training for 26.2 miles since June.
But as Sunday’s race approaches, Hurley has some questions about the mental adjustment to the increased distance.
“There’s a bit of ‘I don’t know what I don’t know yet.’ That will be interesting,” Hurley told the Sun-Times. “But, as far as training goes, what I’ve learned to do is focus less on the result and focus more on the effort and what it should feel like, and with that the result will follow.”
Hurley, 28, has had strong results during her career, carrying into a successful 2026.
Based in Indianapolis, Hurley won Chicago’s eight-kilometer Shamrock Shuffle this March with an American-record time of 24 minutes and 29 seconds. Then in April, she won the USA Track & Field 10-Mile national title championship in Washington, D.C. Just three weeks ago, she finished fifth in the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, completing the course in 66 minutes and 23 seconds.
Now she’s taking the next step – well, a lot of additional steps – in Chicago, one of eight elite marathons across the world.
Hurley, who said running marathons has been on her mind since graduating from Furman University in 2020, shifted from Atlanta to Indianapolis on Dec. 29, 2023, during what she called a “hectic time” to choose to move. Over that time, she’s grown more comfortable in road races, especially the half marathon, and got increasingly excited about going 26.2 miles.
Hurley will make her debut at that distance in front of her parents, extended family and her boyfriend. She’ll do that at an event known for fast times because of the relatively flat course and how the race’s setup is planned with the runners in mind.
“I know it’s kind of funny because Chicago is a place you go to run fast, but for me I’m more focused on the effort and where I finish within the field than the time. For me, that’s brought a lot of comfort,” Hurley said. “As far as tackling the distance, I don’t know, but I think the goal is to try to be relaxed and just enjoy the first half and then over the second half is where I think I’ll really have to dig deep.”
The second half, of course, is the terrain Hurley hasn’t experienced. She does have a plan to help her break through a wall, if one comes up during her run.
In short, she won’t forget the effort she put in before the race. Not just in training with coach Andrew Begley during a warm summer, but the way she’s lived her life for the past four-plus months.
“At that point, it’s an hour left. It’s just reminding myself that I can do something hard for an hour, two hours because I spent months and months with every decision I’ve made has been about setting myself up for [the marathon],” Hurley said. “And I don’t just mean every running decision, I mean every [other] decision. Do I go to this thing my friends are doing or not? What time do I go to bed? How far do I walk? I mean every decision has been about setting up this day correctly.
“It’s almost like I’ve gotten to that 26-mile mark and there’s point-two to go and it’s just paying attention for that amount of time,” she added. “I can do that.”