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Detroit Marathon marked by moving embrace and tragic collapse

VaselineOctober 21, 2024

4 3 minutes read

Detroit Marathon marked by moving embrace and tragic collapse

History was made Sunday at the 47th annual Detroit Free Press Marathon, presented by MSU Federal Credit Union, a storied Motor City institution dating back to 1978.

For the first time, a married couple, Sydney Devore-Bowman and Andy Bowman, both from Ferndale, each claimed victory in their respective marathons as they embraced at the finish line.

Amid the elation of the day, tragedy crept in when a 57-year-old man participating in the marathon collapsed and died around the fifth mile marker on the Canadian portion of the course. He was taken to Windsor Regional Hospital, marathon officials said, where he was pronounced dead.

“We are saddened by this and our hearts go out to the family,” said Aaron Velthoven, vice president and race director of the marathon.

A colorful run and a friendly bet

It was a perfect day for a marathon, with temperatures in the high 40s at the 7 a.m. start, complemented by a light breeze and a sunrise over the Detroit skyline.

Runners gathered in the street and a flock of birds flew over Fort Street as Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” played over the speakers. Starting at 7 a.m., thousands of people set out from the corner of Fort Street and Second Avenue in downtown Detroit, all hoping to reach Windsor and back.

It runs in the family: Sydney Devore-Bowman wins 2024 women’s Detroit marathon after husband Andy Bowman wins men’s marathon

The full marathon route took runners over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada before returning to Michigan via the underwater Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Runners passed through other colorful parts of Detroit, passing the murals of Eastern Market and through the underground Dequindre Cut, all leading to the finish line in the heart of downtown Detroit near Campus Martius Park.

In addition to the celebrated 26.2-mile marathon, Sunday’s race program included an international half-marathon, as well as the US-based ‘Motor City’ half-marathon.

About 26,000 people registered for the full weekend of races and challenges. That was 2,000 more participants than last year, and not far away from the record of 27,833 registrations in 2015.

By the time the sun shone over the skyscrapers along Woodward Avenue, runners participating in the half marathon began crossing the finish line, joined by adaptive cyclists who completed the full 26.2 miles. Zach Stinson, a 35-year-old Marine veteran from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, who lost his legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010, rolled his handcycle across the finish line in first place.

Anna Benedettini, from Kailua, Hawaii, placed first in the women’s international half marathon with a time of 1:14:30, and Rayyan Morsi of Ann Arbor tore through the men’s half marathon field with a 1:06 :56.

Some competed with more than medals and personal bests in mind. For John Urbanic, of Ypsilanti, his hair was on the line.

Urbanic, 45, said the marathon keeps getting better. This year he was excited with patriotic pride when he returned to America.

“All those people, cheering. You come back to America and it’s just an amazing feeling,” Urbanic said of getting up from the underwater portion of the race.

The only downside of the day? His time. Although Urbanic covered the 26.2 miles in a fast 3:03:56, he lost a bet with a friend for not breaking 2:55.

“The loser gets to decide the other person’s hairstyle,” he said, laughing.

An elite and local field

The 47th Detroit Marathon was the first edition of the event to attract an “elite” field, a new class seeking the nation’s best-performing marathoners. Even in a broader field of faster runners, both the marathon winners and many of the top runners come from metro Detroit.

Velthoven, the race director, said having local runners on the podium reflects how special the metro Detroit running community is.

“The community of elite long-distance runners is great here in metro Detroit and across the state,” Velthoven said.

The men’s winner, Andy Bowman, who finished with a blistering 2:17:47, was followed by William Cadwell of South Haven (2:21:06) and Zacchaeus Widner of Lansing (2:21:22).

For the women, Sydney Devore-Bowman (2:42:46) was followed by Chelsea Hall of New Albany, Ohio (2:45:55) and Casey Mulroy of Richmond, Virginia (2:50:37).

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When Devore-Bowman broke the banner, she jumped into Bowman’s arms, a moment she had been waiting for since mile 22, when she learned her husband had won his race.

“That whole last four miles… I thought, ‘He’s waiting for you, he’s waiting for you,’” Devore-Bowman said. “And oh my God, I just started crying when I turned that (last) corner. .”

After the race, Bowman — in a sea of runners draped in flags and completion medals, drinking chocolate milk and Gatorade — said he was grateful for it.

“It’s another moment to share in this thing that we’re passionate about, all the highs and lows.”

Reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at [email protected]M.

VaselineOctober 21, 2024

4 3 minutes read