Salt Lake City is a place where people spend their weekends running mountain trails, training for marathons, and finding new ways to test themselves. It’s also a place where a whale in a neighborhood roundabout can inspire an entire endurance event. At Universal Systems, we love that both things are true.

That’s why we’re proud to sponsor the first officially sanctioned Whaleathon on October 24, 2026. The challenge is exactly as wonderfully strange as it sounds: a full 26.2-mile marathon made up of roughly 630 laps around the “Out of the Blue” whale sculpture at 900 South and 1100 East. It brings together the city’s appetite for endurance sports and the neighborhood personality that makes Salt Lake feel like Salt Lake.

The Whaleathon began with a joke during a training run. In 2022, while preparing for the Salt Lake City Marathon, Evan Service suggested running the entire distance around the whale. Alongside Caleb Leftwich, Jackson Bradshaw, and Wyn Barnett, he helped turn that idea into a real challenge, with the first Whaleathon completed on October 21, 2023. What started as an unlikely running project has grown into a community tradition, and this year marks its first official, permitted edition.

“Being an endurance athlete in Salt Lake City means being surrounded by people who are always up for a challenge, even a slightly ridiculous one,” said Gary Gonzalez, Chief Marketing Officer at Universal Systems. “But what makes something like the Whaleathon special is the community around it. It’s the runners, the neighbors, and the fact that someone looked at a whale in a roundabout and thought, ‘We should run a marathon around that.’ As a local company, we want to help those ideas happen. They bring people together and give this city its character.”

This year, the roundabout will be closed to vehicle traffic, giving participants the loop to themselves. Spectators can attend for free, and the event will support local vendors while donating 15% of proceeds to Grow the Flow in support of the Great Salt Lake. There is no official timing or overall winner, leaving the emphasis on completing the challenge and sharing the experience.

For Universal Systems, supporting the Whaleathon is a way to invest in the community we call home. Our city’s identity comes from its neighborhoods, its people, and their willingness to build something a little unexpected. We’re proud to help this particular Salt Lake tradition take its next step, even if that step is followed by another 629 laps.

Learn more about the October 24 event and find registration information at whaleathon.com.