Most people train all year to run a marathon. Tomasz Sobania runs one every day.
Since May 10, the Polish endurance runner began a quest to run 26 miles – the official length of a marathon – every day. But wait, there’s more: he’s doing it in a new state every day.
Sobania started the first of 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days in San Francisco on Mother’s Day. If all goes as planned, Sobania will run his final marathon in New York on June 28.
On June 6, Sobania is slated to start a new 26-mile journey in St. Louis and rest for the night in Springfield before running the next day with a stop in Chicago. He will also make an appearance that day at Route 66 Motorheads Bar and Grill as part of Springfield’s 100th anniversary celebration of Route 66. The event will feature the musician Dagga and Sobania’s inspiration as a runner, Dean Karnazes, who has also run 50 marathons in 50 days, along with Urszula Musik, who completed a marathon on all seven continents within a single year.
Sobania has previously run more than 3,300 miles in the U.S., including more than 1,000 miles of Route 66 as part of his 2025 “Run Across the USA.” Before he took off for his first marathon run from San Francisco, Sobania took a few minutes to talk with Illinois Times about what he learned from his initial runs through some of the Mother Road, and how he can’t wait to see it again.
“I learned that, even though some places may not be so much in use as much as they were, it can still be absolutely wonderful and people should not forget about it,” Sobania said. “It shouldn’t be like in those old cartoons, where people are just driving by the (scenery) and not really seeing the beauty of it. I got to spend two months running on Route 66, and it was an absolute privilege.”
New York filmmaker Alex Klymko, who is making a documentary about Sobania’s 50/50/50 run for MarathonsAcrossAmerica, will also be in Springfield on June 6.
“My vision for the film is where it can be a place where people can talk and learn more about running, but even more so, about the idea that everybody’s running their own type of marathon – not necessarily in a pair of sneakers,” Klymko said. “Metaphorically speaking, everybody’s facing their own 26-mile run, with a big wall built in. This isn’t about a finish line. It’s about recognizing the kind of effort that brings people together across towns, cultures and distance. Route 66 has always carried those stories, and this is one more chapter being lived in real time.”
The city of Springfield will host a 5K run as part of the festivities, and participants in that will have exclusive access to the Motorheads event, which is not open to the general public. The Centennial Route 66 5K begins at 8 a.m. June 6 at the Gate 2 Route 66 Experience exhibit and includes a scenic loop through the fairgrounds plus a one-mile stretch on the Illinois State Fair Grandstand Track.
Sobania, 25, calls himself a “dreamer.” What, exactly, though, is the dream of all this? It may sound like a stretch, but he hopes more Americans will discover the country’s beauty while truly getting outside, away from their phones, laptops and TV screens.
Officially, he is trying to raise a public awareness campaign as part of his latest journey, with a theme of “You Can Do More Than You Think.”He aims to “inspire people to take action despite disabilities, disorders, illnesses and other life challenges.”
“Get out there and see what’s around you. When you are just there, in the quiet, in the moment, you experience it differently than being in a car,” Sobania said. “There is so much beauty in this country.”
He has already run through Springfield once, as part of his “Run Across the USA” last year, which encompassed 125 marathons in 139 days.
“It was during Halloween, and I remember seeing lots of Lincoln beards and things like that,” Sobania said. “I can’t wait to get there again. Please save a Lincoln hat for me!”
This article appears in Summerguide 2026.
