The news desk
On September 29, 2026, LetsRun reported that American runner Emma Grace Hurley ran 66:23 at the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, finishing fifth and helping the U.S. team take team silver. The report said she was about to make her Chicago Marathon debut and rated herself as having 2:20 marathon ability, an assessment not yet backed by an actual marathon result. On October 7, Outside Run reported she will debut at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11, describing her 2026 season as including a 1:06:23 half marathon personal best and sixth place at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen; the two reports differ on her Copenhagen placing, with earlier reporting saying fifth and later reporting saying sixth. Outside Run also said watching the 2022 New York City Marathon finish first made her fear the distance. On October 8, Marathon Handbook noted American records could fall in Chicago, saying Emily Sisson's 2:18:29 faces a challenge and referring to a debutant with a 1:06:23 half who believes she is in 2:20 shape.
Three men in the Chicago Marathon field have run close to Conner Mantz's American record of 2:04:43, and one has gone faster on a course that does not count. Emily Sisson's 2:18:29 mark faces a bigger challenge, though a debutant with a 1:06:23 half marathon believes she is in 2:20 shape.
American elite runner Emma Grace Hurley will make her marathon debut at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11, after a 2026 season that included a 1:06:23 half marathon personal best and sixth place at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen. She says watching the 2022 New York City Marathon finish first made her fear the distance.
Emma Grace Hurley finished fifth at the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen in 66:23 and helped Team USA take team silver. She is set to make her Chicago Marathon debut and rates herself as having 2:20 marathon fitness. Starting from 51st at NCAA cross country and a software job, she is now one of America's best road racers.