Labor Day up here in Maine usually means a lot of traffic as tourists try to get up here for one last weekend, a cook out with family and friends before everybody’s kids go back to school (or right after they go back to school) and the official start of Autumn around here, which will last about a month and a half and then it will be Winter. (Yes, I know that the dates don’t match what the calendar says, but this is Maine.)

Well, Labor Day Weekend meant something different to Chuck Engle. For Chuck, it meant that it was a good opportunity to fly around the country winning marathons.

Chuck is no stranger to back to back marathons, having won 60 of his 100 top 3 finishes over the past 5 years. He’s been on the podium or in the money more than any other athlete in the marathon since the turn of the century. As far as I am aware, though, this is the first time that he’s attempted to win back to back to back marathons.

His weekend started off in Idaho with the Pocatello Marathon, where his 2:38:40 broke the course record by 2 minutes. Unfortunately, his dream of winning all 3 marathons this weekend were immediately shot as local runner Kory Wheatley ran a PR 2:36:19 for the win.

Next up, Chuck found himself in Mississippi at the Tupelo Marathon on Sunday. Chuck has won this race 6 times, and yesterday was no different. He won the race in 2:47:17.

Last but not least, Chuck traveled Missouri and ran the Heart of America Marathon. He wasn’t able to win this one either, as his 2:54:51 was over 7 minutes behind Matt Laye.

Even though Chuck did not win his 3 Labor Day Weekend marathons, he put in an amazing effort. He can be proud of his one win and two second place finishes, especially given the 4400 miles of flying and 1400 miles of driving that he had to do in order to run all 3 of the races.

(More Info: Marathon Guide.com¹ – Idaho State Journal – HoA Results – ¹Photo Credit)