City Marathon Sets a Record With 31,000 Finishers

At 7 a.m. on Sunday, the starting corrals stretched for nearly half a mile down the city’s main boulevard, a sea of neon shirts, foil blankets and nervous stretching under a low gray sky. Six and a half hours later, the last runners were still crossing the finish line to cheers from volunteers who refused to go home. In between, the race wrote a new chapter in its long history. More than 31,000 runners crossed the finish line at Sunday’s city marathon, the most in the race’s 47-year history.

Cool, cloudy weather helped. Temperatures hovered in the upper 40s for most of the morning, with light winds and no rain, conditions runners and coaches described as close to ideal. The weather produced fast times up and down the field, and the women’s course record fell to Kara Jennings, who won in 2:22:41.

A record day from start to finish

Race organizers said 31,284 runners finished the 26.2-mile course, surpassing the previous record set six years ago by more than 2,000. Registration opened in the spring and filled in less than a week, prompting the race to add several thousand charity and lottery entries.

Race director Paul Henning credited a mix of factors for the record field: a growing interest in running, a course that is known for being relatively flat and fast and a city that turns out in large numbers to cheer.

“This race belongs to the neighborhoods it runs through,” Henning said. “When you have this many people on the course and this many people on the sidewalks, it becomes something bigger than a race.”

The course loops through more than a dozen neighborhoods, crossing the river twice and passing parks, historic districts and a long stretch along the waterfront. Organizers estimated that hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the route, many holding handmade signs and offering orange slices, pretzels and high-fives.

Jennings breaks the course record

Kara Jennings won the women’s race in 2:22:41, breaking the course record by 38 seconds. The previous mark had stood for nine years.

Jennings, 29, ran in a pack of four through the first half, passing the halfway point in about 1:11:40. She made her move around mile 18, pulling away on a gentle uphill stretch near the river and building a lead of more than a minute by mile 22. She ran the final miles alone, checking her watch occasionally as the crowds grew louder near the finish.

“I knew the record was possible if the weather held,” Jennings said. “When I saw the clouds this morning, I thought, okay, today might be the day.”

Jennings, who trains in Flagstaff, Arizona, and works part-time as a physical therapy assistant, said the crowd support was the most memorable part of the race. She finished fourth here two years ago and said she had circled this year’s race on her calendar ever since. Her coach, Rob Thayer, said the plan all along was to stay patient through the first half and let the course do the work. “Kara is at her best when she waits,” Thayer said. “The hardest part of today was convincing her not to go at mile 12.”

Jennings crossed the finish line with both arms raised and then turned around to watch the clock, as if to make sure the numbers were real. She spent the next twenty minutes hugging volunteers, signing bibs for young runners and posing for photos with her parents, who had driven in from Colorado to watch her race.

Every mile, someone was yelling my name off my bib. That carries you.

Kara Jennings, women’s winner

Second place went to Monica Reyes in 2:24:15, and Hannah Okoro finished third in 2:25:02. All three women ran faster than the previous year’s winning time.

A tight men’s race

The men’s race came down to the final mile. Daniel Mbeki and Tyler Kowalski ran side by side for most of the second half before Mbeki surged with about 800 yards to go. He crossed the line in 2:09:33, four seconds ahead of Kowalski. Marcus Lindqvist was third in 2:10:20.

Mbeki, a two-time runner-up in the race, said he was determined not to finish second again. “I was hurting the last three miles,” he said. “But I told myself, not this year.”

The wheelchair division also saw strong results. Jordan Ellis won the men’s wheelchair race in 1:28:14, and Amelia Torres won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:41:56, both well ahead of their times from last year.

Top finishers

• Women: Kara Jennings, 2:22:41 (course record); Monica Reyes, 2:24:15; Hannah Okoro, 2:25:02
• Men: Daniel Mbeki, 2:09:33; Tyler Kowalski, 2:09:37; Marcus Lindqvist, 2:10:20
• Wheelchair: Jordan Ellis, 1:28:14; Amelia Torres, 1:41:56

Stories from the middle of the pack

For most of the 31,000 finishers, the day was not about records. It was about personal goals, months of early-morning training runs and the satisfaction of crossing a finish line many once thought impossible.

Retired teacher Linda Morales, 72, finished her 25th marathon, all of them in this race. Firefighter Sam Petrakis ran the course in full turnout gear to raise money for a burn survivors charity. A group of 40 coworkers from a local hospital ran together in matching shirts, finishing hand in hand. And first-time marathoner Jasmine Reed, who started running two years ago to manage stress, crossed in just under five hours and burst into tears at the finish.

“I could not run a mile when I started,” Reed said. “Today I ran 26 of them. I do not think I will ever stop smiling.”

Organizers said charity runners raised more than $9 million for local and national causes, another record for the event.

Behind the scenes

Pulling off a race of this size takes an army. More than 8,000 volunteers handed out water, staffed medical tents, managed the start corrals and cheered runners through the final stretch. Aid stations every mile or two offered water and sports drinks, and several also stocked energy gels and bananas.

Race medical director Dr. Helen Park said the cool weather helped keep medical visits lower than usual. Most cases involved cramping, blisters and fatigue. Park reminded runners that recovery matters as much as training:

• Keep walking gently after the finish rather than stopping abruptly.
• Rehydrate and eat a balanced meal in the hours after the race.
• Rest for several days and ease back into running gradually.
• See a doctor for pain that is sharp, swelling or does not improve with rest.

City officials said road closures went smoothly, and most streets reopened by mid-afternoon. Transit ridership spiked as spectators moved between viewing points.

Key takeaway: Ideal weather, a record field of 31,000-plus finishers and a new women’s course record made this year’s marathon the biggest and one of the fastest in its 47-year history.

Looking ahead

Registration for next year’s race opens in the spring, and Henning expects demand to be even higher after this year’s record. Organizers are studying whether the course and start areas can safely handle a larger field, and they plan to expand the lottery system to give more local runners a fair chance at entry.

For Jennings, the record was a milestone, not an endpoint. She said she plans to rest for a few weeks before setting new goals. “I love this race,” she said. “I will be back, and maybe I will try to beat my own record.”