Joshua Holmes, a Jackson native, is honored for his running accomplishments, including the completion of more than 320 marathons and ultra-marathons.
“I have always found running to be the most pure and simplest form of athleticism,” Holmes said. “You don’t need any fancy gear to get started or for a coach to put you on the team so you can play. It is something you can start very innocently on your own with a very high ceiling and many different avenues on where you can take it.”
Holmes took a different road to get to where he is today.
“I grew up with bad asthma as a child, and the doctors told my parents I should not play outside as a kid,” he said. “My parents (Jack and Zan Holmes) to their credit said that was no way to live as a child and let me play outside and play sports growing up.”
He would often pay for it with bad asthma attacks, especially late at night, but his mother would always sit up with him and help him get through the attacks.
“So, for me, there is still some of that boy in me wanting to do the impossible and show others what is possible with a strong drive and indomitable spirit to reach not just goals, but true finish lines,” Holmes said. “I never imagined it would turn into what it has, but it’s been an incredibly beautiful journey that is about to spill into its third decade for me.”
Holmes, 46, lives in Hollywood, Calif. He graduated from Jackson Christian School in 1996 after transferring from Jackson Central-Merry High School. He played basketball and ran track at JCM and played basketball at Jackson Christian.
Holmes earned a degree in finance from Middle Tennessee State University in 3.5 years, and a law degree Juris Doctor and a Bachelor of Civil Law Studies from LSU in 2003. He passed the Tennessee bar and practiced at his father’s firm – Holmes, Rich and Sigler – for about two years.
Holmes soon made himself at home on the road and ran his first full marathon in June 2004. He ran about a dozen marathons before seeking an even bigger challenge.
“I became curious if it was possible to run beyond 26.2 miles,” Holmes said. “I Googled, ‘Can you run beyond 26.2 miles?’ and found the Strolling Jim 40 Miler in Wartrace, Tenn., that had been held since 1977. So, obviously, it was possible.”
Holmes went to the Strolling Jim 40 in May 2010 and completed the distance.
“I then started seeing how far I could push it, doing over 51 miles at a 10-hour race (RUTS) in Kentucky around a half-mile horse track,” Holmes said. “The following February (2011) I ran my first 100 miler at the Rocky Racoon 100 Miler in Huntsville, Texas.”
He said he finished next to last in the race and “barely” came in under the 30-hour cut-off. The following week he signed up for The Vol State 500k race, a 314-mile race from Missouri to Georgia. He has run the race four times. In 2014 he entered the Badwater 135 in Death Valley National Park after having his entry rejected a couple of times.
“At some point I heard about the Badwater 135, considered by many to be the world’s toughest foot race,” he said. “It took many years of working on my resume, but I finally got in. In July 2024, I will be looking to finish Badwater for a 10th consecutive year.”
His best Badwater time was in 2019 when he finished in 29 hours, 35 minutes and 53 seconds, placing 10th overall.
In a way, he was just getting started.
His resume includes 324 marathons and ultramarathons – all finishes – combined with an average distance of 51.3 miles. The breakdown includes 165 marathons – 26.2 miles – and 159 ultramarathons – 76.7-mile average per race. He has a marathon personal best time of 2:56:26, and 100 Miler personal best of 17:13:51.
He is also one of only four people to complete the Grand Slam of 100s and Badwater in the same summer and the fastest to do so. He has accumulated over 17,000 race miles, which includes all races, not just marathons or ultramarathons.
Holmes, who ran the Boston Marathon in 2019, is the father of three – Phoenix (17), Maliyah (13), and Tennessee Jack (8).
“I travel home four to five times a year, spending time with my parents and family, and also host seven running events a year to grow the running community in Jackson and West Tennessee,” Holmes said. “I consider Jackson home, even though I spend most of my year in Hollywood.”
Joshua Holmes joins Drae Bowles, Audrey (Hazlehurst) Davis, Greg Goff and Joe Holloway as the newest members of the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame, when the 38th class is inducted at 6:30 p.m., April 11, at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
Mike and Jan Kelley will be the recipients of the 2024 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award, and Brevin Knight, broadcast analyst with the Memphis Grizzlies, will serve as guest speaker.
For tickets and table information, call Beth Sedberry at 731.616.8558.
(PHOTO: Joshua Holmes)
