Thousands of runners participated in the 48th annual Detroit Free Press Marathon, which had nearly 26,000 registrations across its races, amid warm weather, overcast skies, and strong gusts. Andrew Bowman, a 31-year-old from Ferndale, won the marathon for the second year in a row with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 10 seconds, according to CBS News Detroit.
The Detroit Marathon, which crosses into Canada twice, started in downtown Detroit with an air horn. Local families and supporters lined the course. Regine Beauboeuf, CEO of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, said, "Just looking – just watching the first runners arriving it’s like, 'Oh, this is amazing.'" Runners faced rain that returned near the three-hour mark. Joey Pinto from Ann Arbor said, "My legs started giving out a little bit, but everyone else was around me and a lot of cheering from the crowd kept me going," as reported by Detroit Free Press. Bowman said, "Coming down the final stretch – it’s just like you’re running through the mud. It might be a cross wind but it’s just so strong that it starts to feel like a head wind," as per ClickOnDetroit.
St. Petersburg’s Christina Welsh won the women’s marathon with a time of 2:46:59, as mentioned by CBS News Detroit. The Detroit Free Press Marathon, recently named the best marathon in the country by USA TODAY’s 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards, had over 26,000 participants. During the race, a runner experienced a cardiac incident and was revived by the medical team before being taken to Henry Ford Hospital. The marathon continued despite rainy conditions.
