Grand Rapids Marathon
 |
| Grand Rapids Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 21, 2012 |
| Location | Western Michigan, ending in Grand Rapids |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon |
| Established | 2004 |
| Official site | www.grandrapidsmarathon.com |
The Metro Health/Grand Rapids Marathon is a 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) race run every October in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA since 2004. It is a USATF certified course.[1] The Grand Rapids Marathon picked up Metro Health as a title sponsor in 2008. The full marathon gives runners a tour of downtown Grand Rapids and then heads out of the city and into the trails of Millennium Park. It is considered a flat, fast course and is a qualifying opportunity for the Boston Marathon.[2]
The race director is Don Kern.[3]
The marathon utilizes "celebrity" pace teams, based on the times of famous people who had run marathons. The current pace teams include Oprah (4:29), P. Diddy (4:14), Will Ferrell (3:56), George W. Bush (3:44), William Baldwin (3:24), and Pi (3:14).
Apart from the main event, there is also a kids marathon, 5K, 10K, half-marathon, marathon relay and fitness expo.
The course record of 2:26.46 was set by Ryan Greutman in 2008.
The 2011 overall winner was Justin Gillette (Goshen, Indiana) in a time of 2:27:44. The 2011 female winner was Dani Steinbacher (Ann Arbor, Michigan), who achieved a time of 2:58:12. Also in 2011, Jason Kleinjan (Chicago, Illinois) won the half-marathon for the second consecutive year, with a time of 1:12:51, and Julia Viel (Mentor, Ohio) was the female winner with 1:24:19.[4]
2012 is expected to be a 6,000-person event.
- ^ Kern, Don. "GRMarathonFAQ". Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ Kern, Don. "GRMarathonFAQ". Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ Kern, Don. "GRMarathonCommittee". Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ Kaminski, Steve (October 17, 2011). "Grand Rapids Marathon champion Justin Gillette not slowing down after 17th race in 2011". Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 20 June 2012.