Former UWO Titan runner wins Fox Cities Marathon, sets sights on Boston

John Thill shows off the hardware he took home after winning the Fox Cities Marathon.

When Oshkosh resident John Thill graduated from UW-Oshkosh with his bachelor's degree in social work in May, he started looking for new experiences. On Sunday, Sept. 21, he found himself on the start line of the Community First Fox Cities Marathon (presented by Miron), his first race longer than 10,000 meters.

Two hours, 39 minutes and 19 seconds later, Thill was the first to cross the finish line, winning his debut marathon.

"The environment was really energizing. It was never something I thought about doing before," Thill said. "I'm still speechless on the results and what happened, it's so fresh."

When asked why he decided to start with a full marathon instead of a shorter race like the half marathon, Thill said, "If I'm going to a half, why not just do the full right away? Once I finish the half, I know I'm going to want to do more, so why not do the whole thing? I wanted to see what I am capable of doing and just go from there so I can grow as a runner and as a person."

The Oshkosh West High School graduate was not the only Titan to compete in the Fox Cities Marathon on Sunday. Assistant cross country and track & field coach Brittany Gibson set a personal record in the women's half marathon (1:29.55) and head baseball coach Kevin Tomasiewicz ran in the men's half marathon while his wife, Jessica, who is the director of UW-Oshkosh's doctoral nurse practitioners-nurse anesthesia emphasis program, ran the full marathon. As he ran the 26.2-mile course, Thill saw numerous people from UW-Oshkosh.

"(UW-Oshkosh Athletics) is very supportive of each other," he said. "We're all here to help people grow, cheer on others and watch each other grow. It's super fun having other people on your side."

Encouraged by his debut marathon performance, Thill, who was a member of the cross country team from 2021-24 and the track & field program from 2022-23 and in 2025, has set his sights on the historic Boston Marathon.

"Britt and Eamon [McKenna] are helping me figure out how to set Boston up," he said. "My goal for that is 2027 since my time was qualifying, so that's where my next big race is. During that time, I'll do some half marathons in the area to see what I can do and go from there".

Titans are no stranger to the Boston Marathon. Former head cross country and track & field coach and UW-Oshkosh, WIAC, and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association halls of fame inductee John Zupanc has run in 29 Boston Marathons with three top-50 placements and a best finish of 18th in 1985. He plans to compete in his 30th Boston Marathon in 2026. Gibson and McKenna have also traveled to Boston once for the annual marathon and Gibson will join Zupanc in the 2026 edition of the race.

Learn more:

Fox Cities marathon weekend wrap-up