Severna Park Native Julia Downing Completes Six Marathons At Venues Across The World

Similar to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ hit song “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” Severna Park native Julia Downing’s dream of running six marathons in six years became a reality when she crossed the finish line in the Tokyo Marathon in March.

Downing accomplished this running feat by completing the Boston, New York, London, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo marathons, each 26.2 miles. This earned her the distinction of the Abbott World Marathon Six Star medal at the age of 30.

Downing, who grew up in Chartridge, began running with her mom at Kinder Farm Park when she was in elementary school. Her mom was part of the Annapolis Striders running club and Downing would run as an activity with her mom.

“My good friend Sierra Knoch talked me into joining the indoor track team at Severna Park High School and I started to run sprint competitions for the team,” Downing said. “I was shocked by how much I liked being on the team; I definitely drank the Kool-Aid.”

Downing then joined the cross-country team and continued participating in indoor and outdoor track, culminating in being selected as co-captain of the cross-country team.

“I have such great memories of those high school days; using the B&A Trail for our training runs and our team dinners at Squisito’s,” reminisced Downing, a 2013 graduate of Severna Park High School.

Downing went on to the University of Maryland and participated in its club cross-country team. While she was a student at Maryland, Downing completed her first marathon and came back to Severna Park to run in the B&A Trail Marathon in 2015. Downing still credits that 26.2-mile adventure for the confidence to continue training for additional marathons

“To this day, the B&A Trail Marathon is in my top three marathons I’ve done because of the memories of Severna Park growing up,” Downing said.

Upon graduating from Maryland with a degree in materials science and engineering in 2017, Downing enrolled at Northwestern University in Chicago where she ultimately earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering in 2023.

While at Northwestern, she continued training and completed the Chicago Marathon in 2018. Then during the COVID-19 pandemic years, road races were halted. Downing stayed with her training regimen throughout the pandemic to stay in shape for future marathons.

In the spring of 2021, Downing began her gauntlet of running six marathons in six years by finishing the Boston Marathon. In 2022, Downing ran the New York City Marathon, and in 2023, she ran the London and Berlin marathons. Then came the Chicago Marathon in 2024, and running in the Tokyo Marathon in March 2026 completed her running journey.

“I took a break in 2025 because that international travel is really hard on your body,” Downing said.

Downing is fortunate to have a supportive family, as her mom, dad and fiancé accompany her to these events.

“It’s really fun to share these memories with my family and fiancé,” Downing said. “My dad loved London because of the history and landmarks, and my mom loved Berlin because of the sightseeing and where the Berlin Wall was. I couldn’t have done these marathons without them.”

Her family also helped during those grueling miles pounding the asphalt as they were positioned at certain mile markers to hand out fluids and/or energy packs during the race.

“I pre-mix my fluids before the race so I get my electrolytes I need as well as I have eight energy gel packets I take at specific mile markers,” Downing said.

Her marathon training begins 16-18 weeks before each event. She runs 20-30 miles a week at the beginning, then ramps up to 40-50 miles a week a few weeks prior to the marathon.

“I love to run at sunrise and it’s easier to train with a group of friends,” Downing said. “I also added weight training to my training ritual as I do deadlifts and squats to strengthen my lower body and curls and presses for my upper body.”

Downing shared that the New York Marathon was the hardest of the six because of how many bridges connect the five boroughs, and Heartbreak Hill in Boston was challenging as well. Her favorite marathons she has completed are the Chicago, B&A Trail and London events.

With the recent marathon in Tokyo, Downing raised $5,000 for the Dare2tri charity, which helps eliminate barriers in sports and fitness for all athletes by supporting individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments.

Downing also uses a nutrition plan leading up to races but celebrates completing these taxing events with food that’s not always on her dietary plan.

“After a race, I like a big burger,” Downing said. “In Chicago, we go to Small Cheval restaurant, but we may also get a Chicago hot dog on the way home.”

Downing is currently training for the Chicago marathon this October.

What started as a way to spend time with her mom at Kinder Park became the catalyst for achieving a feat that only about 25,000 people have accomplished worldwide, as well as raising money for charity.