If you’re ever looking for a jean-ius on the race course, look no further than Springfield, Ore.’s Truett Hanes–a 2:42 marathoner in jeans. The 28-year-old has completed three marathons wearing his blue denim–dipping under three hours each time–and one 50K ultramarathon, which he finished in less than five hours. Hanes clocked his personal best of 2:42:50 at last weekend’s Austin Marathon, but aims to continue lowering that number.
Hanes says he’s never been a fan of wearing tights to run, and began running in jeans in 2023. “Why waste time switching out of them into shorts when I could just wear jeans for everything?” he told Canadian Running. “I believe that if you have a strong mind and an able body, then you can run just fine no matter the attire.”
While there is no Guinness World Record for fastest marathon in jeans, the record for fastest marathon dressed as a rancher is 2:42:14, held by Calgary’s Justin Kurek. Hanes says the organization only permits world record attire attempts at the London Marathon, where it is based, and hopes to set the record at this year’s race.
“While I did just enjoy the activity and wackiness of running in jeans, The Perfect Jean NYC connected with me and had the idea of getting me into the New York City Marathon and raising money for charity while doing so,” he said. “Then it all clicked for me–I can do two things I love at once: push myself physically in an unconventional way and raise money to help others.”
In the last four months, the Perfect Jean has donated US$15,000 to fund research on finding a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS) and to support the Miracle Foundation, a non-profit organization working to help orphans in India and the U.S.
Hanes admitted he has two major goals with his training: build muscle and endurance. “My regular training week, when I’m not training for world records, is seven days a week at the gym and 70 miles a week running,” he said. “If I’m already in jeans, then I’ll gladly lift or run in them, but if I’m wearing sweatpants, then I’ll workout in sweatpants. Not terribly upset either way, the work will get done regardless of what I’m wearing.”
The athlete also answered the burning question: no, he faces no issues with chafing in the denim pants. On marathon race days, Hanes will lather on Salty Britches anti-chafing cream, but aside from underwear, he wears no extra layers underneath.
“I started running as a kid,” Hanes said. “My dad is an endurance athlete, so he would have my brother and me run with him as far back as I can remember. I ran my first half-marathon when I was eight, and my first marathon when I was 13, with a time of 3:30. I had to be 16 to sign up, so my dad forged my age in order for me to compete.”
On his mission to dip under two hours and 30 minutes, Hanes has a 2025 schedule chock-full of marathon events. He’s set to toe the line at the Boston and Eugene marathons, both in April, as well as the Huntsville Marathon in September and the NYC Marathon in November. He also will race in a backyard ultra in May and the Leadville 100-miler in August.
On Feb. 2, Hanes demolished the Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours–beating the mark of 9,250, with six hours to spare. But he kept going, and called it a day at 10,001 pull-ups in 22 hours. “I held the record back in 2023 for a single day by doing 8,100 reps, and it was beat by 500 reps,” he said. “This time around, I wanted to leave no question, so 10,000 was the goal.”
For training, he recorded 130,000 pull-ups over six months–averaging to more than 700 reps per day. “All it takes is consistency and an absolute certainty that no matter what happens, no matter the pain level or how inconvenient it is, I’d never quit,” he said. “Just keep doing pull-ups, keep running and you’ll get better. How much better depends entirely on how much you’re willing to sacrifice. For me? It was everything other than my wife, my family and my dog.”
