Travis Blanshan has participated in multiple marathons throughout the country in his life, but on July 24, he returned to The San Francisco Marathon for the sixth time.

Blanshan, assistant director of strategic communications for Fresno State Athletics, makes time to run because he loves it. He started running when he was nine or 10 years old, then Blanshan joined track in high school and did a few marathons while living in Minnesota.

“It was fun and a good challenge,” said Blanshan, who used to swim and bike in triathlon events. After participating in Ironman Boulder in Boulder, Colorado in 2018, he moved back to focus on running in marathons. He has been training for The San Francisco Marathon for months.

“I run mostly every other day and try to run at least 10 to 15 miles each time,” Blanshan said.

One of the challenges he faces when running in San Francisco is the hills. Fresno is very flat, so he uses a treadmill to replicate the hills in San Francisco.

Fresno has its own challenges, like the hot weather. It is difficult for Blanshan to train when it’s 100 degrees, but it is something he embraces.

Blanshan says he doesn’t mind the hot weather. “I love the 100-degree days because there’s no humidity,” Blanshan said. “I wish I could run every day, but after so many miles, you gotta take it easy.”

Blanshan sometimes donates to charities when running marathons, but the majority of the time, he runs for fun and enjoys meeting new people.

“I remember one year in San Francisco meeting a couple each running their first one so it’s always cool to see people accomplish their goals,” Blanshan said.

He also enjoys seeing the sights when going to San Francisco. One of his favorite memories is running on the Golden Gate Bridge.

The San Francisco Marathon no longer allows running on the Golden Gate Bridge itself, Blanshan said, because they want to keep traffic open, but nevertheless, he likes that running has given him an opportunity to explore San Francisco and other cities.

Blanshan has run marathons in big cities like Los Angeles and San Diego; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Phoenix, Arizona and St. Louis, Missouri, but his favorite is Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. He loves the small-town feel of the race and running alongside Lake Superior because the weather is nice in June and the view is beautiful when running.

Blanshan encourages other faculty and students to be active and healthy. He recommends that people new to running start in 5k events, which is a 3.1-mile race — an excellent introduction to running.

“Once you get started, you could easily do a mile one day, two miles, three miles, and then eventually you can build up to a 10k and a half marathon,” he said.

Another piece of advice from Blanshan is to pace yourself because it is a long race, and marathons aren't sprinted races. He loves doing marathons like The San Francisco Marathon because it keeps him healthy.