Eugene Marathon features first-time winners in 2025 edition
Eugene native Jackson Mestler wins the 2025 Eugene Half Marathon in 65:04, his first race over the distance. Photo by Carlos Celio
by Owen Murray, TrackTown USA
Marathons are emotional.
The finish line is always stocked with elation, disbelief and exhaustion — and it was no different in Eugene on April 27.
The sold-out 2025 Eugene Half and Full Marathon took runners around the city on a dry Sunday morning. The winners, for many of whom the day was their first-ever win, took victories on the track at Hayward Field with pride in front of a packed grandstand. Their emotions — optimism, joy, excitement and satisfaction — were on full display at the line.
Men’s half marathon winner Jackson Mestler was the first runner to enter Hayward Field on Sunday morning — the Eugene native finished his first-ever half marathon in 1:05:04.
“I knew it was going to be a patient game for me, at least, to get to eight to 10 miles,” Mestler said. “And then I’d know at that point if this was a big mistake or where I am fitness-wise. It was the latter.”
Mestler led early and often after the field’s early-morning departure on Agate Street, but it wasn’t the victory that he said he was focused on from the gun.
“I just wanted to be cautiously optimistic — to go out there and find a rhythm,” Mestler said. “I just wanted to be rhythmic and efficient. I had a good group of guys out there, so it was really nice.”
On the women’s side, high school track coach Hannah Calvert won her half marathon in 1:16:44 — and, in her first finish at Hayward Field, she let her imagination run, too.
“This’ll be my only win at Hayward Field. I’ll pretend it’s a Diamond League meet.”
- Eugene Half Marathon winner Hannah Calvert
“It was so cool,” Calvert said of the finish line. “I was like, ‘This’ll be my only win at Hayward Field. I’ll pretend it’s a Diamond League meet.’”
Calvert, an experienced distance runner, said she secretly loves half marathons.
“I think the half is the magical distance,” Calvert said. “You can recover from it super easily, you can run more of them than a marathon, and for me it’s that you can pretty much feel good the whole way.”
The men’s full winner, Bradley Hodkinson, took the tape in his first Eugene Marathon. Hodkinson, who finished in 2:19:44, eased ahead of a group with around 10 miles to go and secured the win.
“It was very special,” Hodkinson said of his finish. “This is my first time being at the new Hayward Field, and they did an awesome job. It was super exciting — all the fans were awesome and had lots of hype.”
“The fans were awesome and had lots of hype.”
- Eugene Marathon winner Bradley Hodkinson
He’s a former collegiate track runner who got back into distance running after careers at Pacific Lutheran University and Washington University — Sunday was his fourth marathon, but his first win.
“It went about how I planned,” Hodkinson said. “There were definitely a lot of people going out really quick…I was maybe expecting five or six, but there was a big group of 30 or 40 people.”
Women’s full marathon winner Anna Kenig-Ziesler said the conditions were “just perfect.” She finished in 2:36:53 to take top spot in her category. The race was also her fourth marathon — and her best finish.
“I ended up running alone for a lot of it, but I felt good,” Kenig-Ziesler said. “I liked the backside, because there’s not a lot of people and I feel like that’s when you’re suffering, so it’s kind of nice to have the quiet.”
She’s a current PhD student specializing in environmental public policy at the University of Washington, but started marathoning in 2023 after an undergraduate college soccer and track career at the University of Chicago.
“I’m someone who loves training, and I feel like with the marathon, you get to train all the time.”
- Eugene Marathon winner Anna Kenig-Ziesler
“I just thought it would be fun,” she said of her decision to start running marathons. “I’m someone who loves training, and I feel like with the marathon, you get to train all the time.”
Even with expanded fields, this weekend’s Eugene Marathon sold out across all distances – from the 1k Kids Duck Dash through the full marathon. Registration for 2026 has already opened at eugenemarathon.com.