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Meet our Marathoners

The most successful artists in the theater industry are hard-working, organized, tough skinned, in-shape, and health conscious. These same characteristics could be used to describe the men and women who decide to run a marathon. Each year over 350 marathon races are run worldwide, from the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans to the Olympics, athletes from all over the world come together to test their bodies and minds to the limit in a 26.2 mile race.

Who would do such a thing you may ask? Well, to name a few: an Actor, a Stage Manager and an AEA Member Associate. Read below to find out more about each one of their stories and discover what goes into training for a marathon, what made them each decide to run their race, and what it feels like to cross that finish line!

JIMMY LUDWIG - AEA Principal Councillor

Jimmy Ludwig

For the third straight year, AEA Principal Councillor Jimmy Ludwig ran the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 2nd. He also was given the opportunity to sing America the Beautiful for the start of the wheelchair race and “did some hanging out with Mayor Bloomberg at the start line.” He also ran his best time in three years, 3:45:11, even after having knee surgery just 10 months ago. Click here to continue reading...

COURTNEY GODAN - AEA Member Associate - NYC

Courtney Godan

The ING 2008 NYC Marathon was Courtney’s first time running a marathon. She put her name into the lottery 2 years ago but was not selected. Since close to 100,000 people from all over the world submit their names to be selected from the lottery drawing to run in the NYC Marathon each year, Courtney decided to sign up with the New York Road Runners instead, and ran in nine qualifying races with them. This guaranteed her an automatic spot in the 2008 Marathon. Click here to continue reading...

KIMBERLY RUSSELL - AEA Stage Manager

Kimberly Russell

AEA Stage Manager Kimberly Russell started running marathons this year. “I ran my first 5K in February of 2007 and as I increased my distances and ran longer races, I realized that a marathon was not out of the realm of possibility and would be a fantastic and challenging goal.” Click here to continue reading...