Wicked star runs NYC Marathon, then performs twice on Broadway

If you’ve ever run a marathon, you know the last thing you want to do afterward is anything involving your legs. But that wasn’t the case for Broadway actor Jordan Litz, who ran Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon in 3:40:53, then dashed to Broadway to perform in the hit musical Wicked in time for the matinee show.

Litz, who has played Prince Fiyero in Wicked since May 2023, was one of a record-setting 59,000 finishers who ran through all five New York City boroughs. He averaged 5:14/km before he swapped his Nike Alphaflys for dance shoes, performing at 2 p.m. after starting the race just after 9:20 a.m.

The 37-year-old from New Jersey later wrote on his Strava post that he was proud of what he accomplished despite the long day: “There’s a worst-case scenario, and then there’s what I did today. My hamstring started seizing at mile 14 and then got horribly bad at mile 22. I’m very proud of myself for even crossing the finish line.”

In a pre-race interview with The New York Times, Litz said he had been training for the marathon–Broadway double for months, sometimes running 30 kilometres before performing two shows in one day, or a sub-20-minute 5K.

Litz’s role in Wicked is no small cameo. As the Prince Fiyero character, he’s the show’s romantic and male lead, who is entangled with Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West.

We’re not sure how his hamstrings held up during his signature number, the upbeat ensemble piece called “Dancing Through Life.” The thought of a mid-song muscle cramp is enough to give anyone stage fright. Either way, this double feat is worthy of a standing ovation.