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Detroit Free Press Marathon

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Detroit Free Press Marathon
Date3rd Sunday in October
LocationDetroit, Michigan, United States and Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Event typeroad
DistanceMarathon, Half-Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K, 1-mile, Kids Marathon, Kids Run
Established1978
Course recordsMale: 2:13:07 (Greg Meyer, 1980)
Female: 2:34:16 (Elena Orlova, 2004)
Official sitewww.freepmarathon.com

The Detroit Free Press Marathon is a 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) race run every third Sunday in October in Detroit, Michigan, United States, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, since 1978. The marathon course is international and has featured the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel for all but two years of its existence. The current course crosses the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor. Due to its use of the tunnel, the race is able to boast that it has the only official underwater international mile in the world, as the tunnel runs underneath the Detroit River. The race is a USATF-certified, Boston-qualifier course.[1]

The race weekend also features an international half-marathon, a U.S.-Only half-marathon, a relay, a 5K, a 1-mile, a Kids Marathon and a Kids fun run.[2]

History

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The predecessor to this race was the Motor City Marathon which started in 1963 and featured multiple laps on Belle Isle.

The first international marathon was organized by former Detroit Free Press editor and publisher Neal Shine, who was inspired to produce a race in Detroit after witnessing the Falmouth Road Race in Boston during a family vacation.[3] [4]

Major General Stan Connelly USAR, An avid runner, organized the nascent race with providing his daughter MaryJane to click in the time of the runners. With the names and times of the runners, he then wrote and published, “Were All Winners!” with the art for the cover done by a local Detroit artist, Jerry Lemenu. General Connelly organized the race and produced the booklets of the runners’ times until his death in 1992.

From 1978 to 1998 the race started in Windsor and finished in Detroit. The race has had several other sponsors, changing the name slightly each time.

2009's field was a record 19,326 runners who participated.[5]

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Registrants were given the option of running the race on their own courses, transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022, or obtaining a 50 percent refund.[6]

The male and female winners of the 2024 race, Andy Bowman and Sydney Devore, were also a married couple.[7]

Winners

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Date Time Men's winner Time Women's winner
1978 2:17:37  Robert McOmber (USA) 2:55:51  Erma Tranter (USA)
1979 2:15:42  Gordon Minty (GBR) 2:44:29  Karen Blackford (USA)
1980 2:13:07  Greg Meyer (USA) 2:49:17  Debbie Froehlich (USA)
1981 2:15:47  Mike McGuire (USA) 2:48:40  Maureen Griffiths (CAN)
1982 2:17:41  David Hinz (USA) 2:45:05  Karen Blackford (USA)
1983 2:16:10  David Olds (USA) 2:46:22  Cindy Keeler (USA)
1984 2:23:40  Loren Bandt (USA) 2:43:00  Karen Blackford (USA)
1985 2:23:58  Tim Fox (USA) 2:51:49  Elizabeth Watch (USA)
1986 2:17:24  Ahmed Mohamed Ismail (SOM) 2:47:56  Pat Wassik-Hinson (USA)
1987 2:18:03  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:47:25  Christine Iwahashi (USA)
1988 2:20:14  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:41:49  Ella Willis (USA)
1989 2:17:24  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:38:22  Ella Willis (USA)
1990 2:19:36  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:44:56  Barbara Remmers (USA)
1991 2:18:36  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:42:49  Ella Willis (USA)
1992 2:19:25  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:45:21  Karen Blackford (USA)
1993 2:19:53  Peter Maher (CAN) 2:43:07  Amy Manson (USA)
1994 2:21:24  Donald Johns (USA) 2:34:55  May Allison (CAN)
1995 2:18:11  Michael McGowan (CAN) 2:38:36  Ann Boyd (USA)
1996 2:20:50  Michael Dudley (USA) 2:43:36  Cindy Keeler (USA)
1997 2:15:50  Brad Hudson (USA) 2:39:59  Lyubov Klochko (UKR)
1998 2:18:51  Zithulele Sinqe (RSA) 2:45:06  Tatyana Maslova (RUS)
1999 2:18:27  Fred Kieser (USA) 2:43:58  Irina Khramova (RUS)
2000 2:24:47  Joseph Maina (KEN) 2:54:30  Lisa Veneziano (USA)
2001 2:17:49  Jacom Kirwa (KEN) 2:52:16  Lupe Hegan (USA)
2002 2:19:14  John Kariuki (KEN) 2:43:22  Angela Strange (CAN)
2003 2:19:27  Hilary Lelei (KEN) 2:46:59  Elvira Kolpakova (RUS)
2004 2:19:15  Joseph Ndirtu (KEN) 2:34:16  Yelena Sidorchenkova Orlova (RUS)
2005 2:14:59  Andrey Gordayev (BLR) 2:40:46  Wioletta Kryza (POL)
2006 2:18:22  Josephat Ongeri (KEN) 2:41:26  Yelena Sidorchenkova Orlova (RUS)
2007 2:15:15  Christopher Toroitich (KEN) 2:34:50  Anzhelika Averkova (UKR)
2008 2:16:44  David Ngeny Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:40:17  Tatyana Belovol (UKR)
2009 2:20:24  Nicholas Stanko (USA) 2:57:10  Sarah Plaxton (USA)
2010 2:28:30  Jordan Desilets (USA) 2:52:14  Paula Keating (CAN)
2011 2:28:22  Derek Nakluski (CAN) 2:44:09  Wioletta Kryza (POL)
2012 2:25:26  Vyacheslav Shabunin (RUS) 2:46:33  Lyubov Denisova (RUS)
2013 2:20:11  Zachary Ornelas (USA) 2:44:53  Lyubov Denisova (RUS)
2014 2:24:54  Michael Andersen (USA) 2:45:52  Courtney Brewis (USA)
2015 2:20:21  Zachary Ornelas (USA) 2:41:35  Lyubov Denisova (RUS)
2016 2:19:20  Alan Peterson (USA) 2:43:54  Lyudmila Korchagina (CAN)
2017 2:22:53  Johnathan Mott (USA) 2:49:53  Valentyna Poltavska (UKR)
2018 2:20:59  Christopher Chipsiya (KEN) 2:47:24  Lyudmila Korchagina (CAN)
2019 2:18:59  Christopher Chipsiya (KEN) 2:39:20  Joan Massah (KEN)
2020 cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[6]
2021 2:22:03  Ryan Corby (USA) 2:51:08  Becca Addison (USA)
2022 2:24:28  Ryan Corby (USA) 2:42:25  Mary Akor Beasley (USA)
2023 2:22:52  Mitch Klingler (USA) 2:50:06  Kate Landau (USA)
2024 2:17:47  Andy Bowman (USA) 2:42:46  Sydney Devore (USA)

References

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  1. ^ "Marathon". October 18, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  2. ^ freepmarathdev. "Detroit Free Press Marathon – Freep Marathon Home". Detroit Free Press Marathon. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  3. ^ Daugherty, Kayla. "How non-running newspaper guy launched the Detroit Free Press marathon". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  4. ^ "Detroit Free Press Marathon – About Us". Detroit Free Press Marathon. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  5. ^ Eric Sharp (October 19, 2009). "Detroit marathon a joyous, sobering race". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Detroit Free Press Marathon | 2020 Race Update". 24 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Michigan couple wins 2024 Detroit Free Press Marathon". CBS News. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
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