Campbell native Billy Hicks completes all 6 major world marathons

Hicks completed the feat earlier this month

Campbell County native Billy Hicks recently completed his sixth major world marathon, earning him the Six Star Medal and the title of Six Star Finisher. The race was held in Tokyo, Japan. Hicks is pictured with his wife Rachel. 

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – For Campbell County native and endurance athlete Billy Hicks, running marathons is much more than a hobby; it was the driving force to keep him going after he tragically lost his son a decade ago.

VERY TOP PHOTO: Billy Hicks running in the Berlin Marathon in Germany in 2021.

In 2017, Billy Hicks participated in the Boston to Big Sur Challenge, running two marathons in two weeks, one in Boston, Massachusetts and the other in Big Sur, California.

Hicks, who is 52, just recently finished competing in the six largest and most renowned marathons in the world, earning him the Six-Star Medal and the title of “Six Star Finisher.” The feat has taken him several years to complete, with his most recent competition held in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago.

The six Major World Marathons consist of three in the Unites States, while the other three are held around the world. The three in the U.S. include one in Chicago, one in New York City, New York and the historic Boston Marathon. The other three are held in Berlin, Germany, London, England and Tokyo, Japan. Hicks completed the one in New York City in 2018, the one in Berlin in 2021 and the one in London in 2021. He ran the one in Chicago in 2023 and has run the Boston Marathon, (his favorite) a total of seven times. The completion of the Tokyo Marathon on March 6^th of this year earned him the Six Star Medal.

Billy Hicks earned this Six Star Medal in recognition of his completion of all six of the world’s major marathons. It took him several years to complete and Hicks just finished the sixth race in Tokyo, Japan on March 6th!

The governing body that is over the six world marathons is the Abbott World Marathon Majors and anyone who finishes all six, is awarded the Six Star Medal by this governing body.

“Doing all the major marathons is a treat; it’s hard to get into some of those races. In Boston, you have to qualify every time and hit that qualifying standard, or you can’t compete. It’s the Super Bowl of marathons,” Hicks said.

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon; there have been 126 Boston Marathons since its inception in April 1897.

Billy Hicks runs more than 3,000 miles a year as an endurance athlete, training and competing in marathons around the United States and the world.

“It’s a qualifier race – everyone who runs Boston is at a very high level of talent; all the other marathons, you get levels of all athletes. Boston does a great job with that race every year, and there’s a lot of nostalgia around that race,” Hicks said.

Running marathons requires a lot of discipline and training to stay in shape to compete. Hicks runs an average of around 3,000 miles a year, an average of a shade more than eight miles a day.

Hicks began running marathons ten years ago after tragically losing his son Carter in 2014. That was the catalyst that “pushed him into endurance running.”

“Ten years ago, in February, I lost my oldest son. I needed something to get me out of bed. Grief is non-linear,” Hicks said. So, he “hired a coach and started running.”

“Over the last ten years, I’ve run more than 25,000 miles; a lot of miles and a lot of training,” Hicks said.

Hicks said his coach, Bobby Holcombe who owns Knoxville Endurance, is amazing and has helped him train to be the endurance athlete that he is.

“My alarm goes off at 3:15am every day, and I drive to practice and training and I’m usually running by 4:30am each day,” Hicks said. He makes sure to give his body one day of rest each week, but he does some form of workout every day, even if it’s “just a little bit of yoga.”

Hicks was born and raised in Campbell County and graduated from CCHS in 1990. In school he was an avid athlete and ran track and field and cross country. He also played two years of varsity basketball for the Cougars.

Hicks grew up working in the family business with his dad David Hicks. Now, he is a financial advisor at UBS.

Now that all six major world marathons are complete for Hicks, his plan is to continue running in his favorite race, the Boston Marathon. He will compete again this year on April 16^th. His new goal is to “streak Boston” which means running it ten times in a row, year after year. He’s close, with this year’s competition making number eight in a row for him. April is also his birthday month and getting to run Boston is a great Birthday treat for him.

“Very few people as a percentage have competed in Boston ten years in a row. The hardest part is staying healthy. You can get injured very easily in endurance running,” Hicks said.

Billy Hicks and his wife Rachel at the Boston Marathon. Boston is his favorite marathon to run in because of the history and nostalgia of the event.

He’s also looking to compete in an Ultra Marathon next year in a 100-mile race.

All these competitions require a lot of effort on his part and a lot of support from his family, friends and coach.

Hicks said that he couldn’t compete without the support from his wife Rachel and their kids; 22-year-old son Cooper and 16-month-old Aspen. He also wanted to thank the rest of his family, friends, and his coach.

“I couldn’t do this without their support; running is part of my life. Running saved me in a lot of ways; now it’s ingrained in me. I love the community; it’s a community of people that help you. My family puts up with my sacrifice of traveling, and there’s a lot of support and training that goes into it. I’ve made a lot of friends doing this; I have friends all over the world,” Hicks said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/25/2024-6AM-PHOTOS SUBMITTED)