AEW’s Darby Allin Set to Run New York City Marathon With Bold Strategy (Exclusive)

Former AEW World Champion Darby Allin is never afraid of a challenge. That's why he's willing to go the distance this fall for a good cause.

Literally.

Allin, 33, told The Takedown on SI this week that he plans on running the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, his first time participating in the event. Not only that, but it will be his first time ever running long distance of any sort, let alone in a marathon.

"I don't even have running shoes yet," Allin said. "I kind of want to just go into it fully blind. Everyone's like, 'you gotta know what you're getting yourself into.' I was like, I kinda wanna just wing it, and it sounds so fun.

"So I don't know if I'll if I actually train for it. Yeah. I kinda wanna just wing it and push myself."

Darby Allin has climbed, now he'll run

Allin has established a reputation as pro wrestling's most notorious thrill-seeker, with his AEW tenure seeing him jump through glass, off stages, and through coffins. Most notably, in 2025, Allin became one of the select few to successfully climb Mt. Everest, a feat he also had no intention of training for until he was told he would die if he didn't.

He does, however, know what it feels like to be exhausted for a long stretch, and believes his pro wrestling experience will help him gut through the 26.2 miles of the marathon.

"There's been times in a match where I'm so physically spent, and then you have that very tail end of the match where you have to give everything in that very tail end, and you don't think you can even stand, and your body knows how to swim in the deep end," he said.

"So I feel like being in that mindset of pushing yourself to the absolute limit, that's when I think about the marathon. I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna need to be in that mindset.' Who knows, those last few miles, what my body's gonna feel like, especially if I don't train for it? So it's gonna be fun to just see what I've learned from wrestling, what I can apply to running. So I'm really excited."

Allin will run in support of and is collecting donations for KultureCity, a nonprofit focusing on sensory accessibility and inclusion for individuals with invisible disabilities. He will be a part of a group of about fifty runners taking part in the marathon. It runs through all five boroughs of New York City and is considered one of the premier marathons in the world

The former champion will be in action at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door this weekend, taking part in a multi-man cage match. He told The Takedown on SI that he will finish the marathon no matter what.

If you use any quotes from this article, please H/T The Takedown On Si.

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