Calli Hauger-Thackery to run JAL Honolulu Marathon

After Chicago DNF, the British distance runner will tackle 26.2 miles in Hawaii on Sunday, writes Rich Sands.

After a year bouncing back and forth between the track and the roads, Calli Hauger-Thackery is looking to end 2025 on a high note at the JAL Honolulu Marathon on Sunday (Dec 14). The race comes after a disappointing day at October’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where an otherwise superlative season caught up with her and she was forced to drop out in the 16th mile.

That followed a busy September in which the 32-year-old British star had placed 11th in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, then was in Germany a week later to cheer on her husband, American distance runner Nick Hauger, in the BMW Berlin Marathon.

“I think it was just going from time zone to time zone, I unfortunately just didn’t give myself quite enough time,” Hauger-Thackery told Race Results Weekly on Tuesday, shortly after arriving in Honolulu from her home in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I had a lot of travel this year, and I’m honored to do that, but it just takes a toll, especially towards the end of the year when the races are coming in fast and hot. All of a sudden it hits you mentally and physically.”

Hauger-Thackery, whose father, Carl Thackery, won the bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships, has put together a strong career, dating back to her time as a student at the University of New Mexico when she helped the Lobos win the 2015 NCAA cross country team title. In 2023 she finished seventh in the half-marathon at the World Athletics Road Running Championships, then won the McKirdy Micro Marathon in an eye-opening 2:22:17.

She took the bronze medal in the European Athletics Championships half-marathon in 2024. That was part of a year in which she focused on the roads, earning an Olympic berth in the marathon in Paris. She was unable to finish that race but came back to clock 2:21:42 at the Berlin Marathon a month later, making her the second fastest British woman of all time behind only Paula Radcliffe.

But to compete at the highest levels over 26.2 miles Hauger-Thackery knew she needed to return to the track this season and hone her speed. “Track is so intense, it’s different than what the marathon and the roads bring,” she notes.

“Nick and I talked about this a lot, and we know that the marathon game has shifted so much. The fast-twitch is important now in the marathon, more than ever. I have natural speed, and I need to keep tapping into that if I want to be able to run a 5-minute mile at the end, with 20 miles in my legs. That’s what a lot of the girls at the front end are running.”

To that end, the 2025 season was exceptionally busy. After clocking a half-marathon personal best of 1:06:58 in Japan in February, she broke 15 minutes in the 5000 meters for the first time two weeks later, clocking 14:55.68 in Boston. In April she placed sixth at the Boston Marathon (2:22:38) and during an extremely busy week in June she ran a PB 30:50.64 for 10,000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, then three days later finished second at the UK trials race in Birmingham to secure her spot at the World Championships.

She had a strong showing in the heat and humidity in Tokyo before turning her attention back to the marathon. “I love racing. It’s what I feel like I’m born to do,” she says of her busy schedule. “You get so much out of each race, no matter the distance or if it’s on the track or the roads. You learn from each one.”

Unfortunately, the hectic season finally took its toll in Chicago. “It’s been a massive year for me. I did it myself,” she says with a laugh. “I told myself I want to do marathon and go to the track and then back to the marathon, and to change those profiles in training, from the endurance to the speed back and forth, it’s a lot on your body and mind.”

Nick has been Hauger-Thackery’s coach since 2023. “We’ll write a book on that one day,” he quips when asked to explain the key to balancing the husband-wife relationship with the athlete-coach dynamic. “There’s no roadmap on how to do this, but if Calli feels like it fits and works, then that’s what we’re going to do. I think there’s a lot of power to that for an athlete, to have that autonomy.”

The couple also trains and collaborates with Ryan and Sara Hall, American distance running royalty. Ryan, now retired, was a two-time Olympian and is still ranks as the third-fastest American marathoner of all time. Sara has been a world-class runner for 15 years and continues to compete at a high level at age 42.

This past weekend she bounced back from a DNF in November’s New York City Marathon with a strong runner-up finish at the California International Marathon. “We work really well with the Halls,” Hauger-Thackery says. “Sara is so incredible and the fact that she’s still going is so inspiring. She’s got exactly 10 years on me, but she still kicks my butt in training.”

After honeymooning in Honolulu two years ago and then winning the Hapalua Half-Marathon there in 2024, Hauger-Thackery says the city’s marathon has been a bucket list race for her. The timing of the 53rd running of the event (Sunday, Dec 14) presented a perfect opportunity for redemption.

“I didn’t want Chicago to be it for me this year. I knew I had another marathon in me,” she says. (Nick Hauger, who ran a personal best of 2:11:48 on a warm day in Berlin in September, will watch his wife race from the lead vehicle. He would have liked to serve as her pacer, but he’s preparing to run The Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona, on December 21.)

This year’s race features a strong international field, including two-time defending champion Cynthia Limo of Kenya and Eunice Chumba of Bahrain, a top 10 finisher at the last two Olympic Games. The course includes some daunting hills, and there are notoriously humid conditions, even with the 5:00am start time. “The terrain and humidity will be challenging, but it’s the same for everyone,” Hauger-Thackery says. “I want to go all-in and get my confidence back and remind myself why I love the marathon.”

This article is brought to you by Race Results Weekly, which is sponsored by RunCzech, organisers of the Prague Marathon and a series of iconic running events, including the Prague Half Marathon, part of the SuperHalfs, and Italy’s fastest half marathon, the Napoli City Half Marathon. Learn more at runczech.com