After a DNF in Chicago, the British long-distance runner will tackle 26.2 miles in Hawaii on Sunday, writes Rich Sands.
After a year of bouncing back and forth between the track and the road, Kali Hauger-Tuckery is looking to end 2025 on a high note at the JAL Honolulu Marathon on Sunday (December 14). The race comes after a disappointing day at the Bank of America Marathon in Chicago in October, where an otherwise great season caught up with him and he was forced to pull out at mile 16.
It followed a busy September when the 32-year-old Briton finished 11th in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and a week later was in Germany to cheer on her husband, American distance runner Nick Hauger, at the BMW Berlin Marathon.
“I think it was just going from time zone to time zone, I just didn’t give myself enough time, unfortunately,” Hauger-Tuckery said. Race Results Weekly: on Tuesday, shortly after arriving in Honolulu from his home in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I’ve had a lot of travel this year and it’s an honor to do it, but it just takes its toll, especially at the end of the year when the races come fast and hot. Suddenly it hits you mentally and physically.”
Hauger-Tuckery, whose father, Carl Tuckery, won a bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, has built a strong career since her days as a student at the University of New Mexico, when she helped the Lobos win the 2015 NCAA team title. In 2023, he finished seventh in the half-marathon at the World Championships in Athletics, then won the McKirdy Micro Marathon in 2:22:17.
He won a bronze medal in the half-marathon at the European Athletics Championships in 2024. That was part of the year he focused on the roads, qualifying for the Olympics in the Paris Marathon. She failed to finish that race, but a month later at the Berlin Marathon returned 2:21:42, making her the second fastest British woman of all time, behind only Paula Radcliffe.
But to compete at the highest levels in the 26.2-mile distance, Hauger-Tuckery knew she had to get back on the track this season and sharpen her speed. “The marathon and the roads are different,” he notes.
“Nick and I have talked about this a lot and we know the marathon game has changed a lot. Pacing is important in the marathon now more than ever. I have natural speed and I need to keep at it if I want to be able to run a 5 minute mile at the end and the girls are running 20 miles.
To that end, the 2025 season was exceptionally busy. After running a personal best of 1:06:58 in a half marathon in Japan in February, she broke 15 minutes in the 5,000 meters for the first time two weeks later, clocking 14:55.68 in Boston. In April he finished sixth in the Boston Marathon (2:22:38) and in a busy week in June he ran a PB of 30:50.64 in the 10,000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, then three days later finished second at the British Trials in Birmingham to secure his place at the World Championships.
He had a strong showing in the heat and humidity in Tokyo before turning his attention back to the marathon. “I love racing. It’s what I feel I was born to do,” she says of her busy schedule. “You get so much out of every race, no matter the distance, track or road. You learn from everyone.”
Unfortunately, the torrid season has finally taken its toll on Chicago. “It was a big year for me, I did it myself,” he says with a laugh. “I told myself I want to do a marathon and go to the track and then go back to the marathon, and changing those profiles in training, from endurance to speed back and forth, it does a lot on your body and your mind.”
Nick has been Hauger-Thackery’s coach since 2023. “One day we’ll write a book about it,” he jokes when asked to explain the key to balancing the husband-wife relationship with the athlete-coach dynamic. “There’s no road map on how to do it, but if Callie feels it fits and works, then that’s what we’re going to do. I think it’s very empowering for an athlete to have that autonomy.”
The pair also train and partner with American distance running royalty Ryan and Sarah Holler. Ryan, now retired, was a two-time Olympian and still ranks as the third-fastest American marathoner of all time. Sarah has been a world-class runner for 15 years and at age 42 is still competing at a high level.
This past weekend, he bounced back from a DNF at the New York City Marathon in November with a strong second-place finish at the California International Marathon. “We do really well with the halls,” says Hauger-Tuckery. “Sarah is so incredible and the fact that she’s still going is so inspiring. He’s done exactly 10 years with me, but he’s still kicking my ass in training.”
After honeymooning in Honolulu two years ago and winning the Hapalua Half Marathon there in 2024, Hauger-Tuckery says the city marathon has been a race for her. The 53rd running of the event (Sunday, December 14) was the perfect opportunity for redemption.
“I didn’t want Chicago to be me this year. I knew I had one more marathon in me,” she says. (Nick Hauger, who ran a personal best of 2:11:48 on a hot day in Berlin in September, will be watching his wife race from the lead car. He’d like to serve as her pacer, but he’s going to run the Project Marathon in Chandler, Arizona, on Dec. 21.)
This year’s race features a strong international field, including two-time defending champion Cynthia Limo of Kenya and Younis Chumba of Bahrain, a top-10 finisher at the last two Olympics. The course includes some scary hills and there are notoriously wet conditions, even with the 5:00am start time. “The terrain and the humidity will be difficult, but it’s the same for everyone,” says Hauger-Tuckery. “I want to go all-in and get my confidence back and remind myself why I love the marathon.”
This article is brought to you by Race Results Weekly, sponsored by RunCzech, organizers of the Prague Marathon and a number of iconic running events, including the Prague Half Marathon, part of the SuperHalfs and Italy’s fastest half marathon, the Napoli City Half Marathon. Learn more at runczech.com
