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Oct 17, 2027
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The IMT Des Moines Marathon is a road marathon in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, held in October. It was first run in 2002, and the weekend also includes a half marathon, a marathon team relay, a 10K, a 5K and a free kids run. The marathon, the half marathon, the relay, the 10K and the 5K start at 8 a.m. on race day, and all races start and end at 212 Raccoon Street, a location introduced in 2026. The marathon course is USATF-certified, and the organisers describe a flat, fast course that gives runners the chance of a Boston Marathon qualifier or a personal best. The half marathon starts downtown, crosses the river towards the Iowa State Capitol and turns back past Papajohn Sculpture Park, where its course splits from the marathon. The half then goes south to Water Works Park and Gray's Lake Park before returning downtown. The cut-off time for the marathon is seven hours. Both course records were set in 2014: 2:12:19 by Philip Lagat of Kenya and 2:32:28 by Abnet Simegn of Ethiopia.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
Mid-October in Des Moines averages a daily high of about 17°C and a low of about 6°C, with some precipitation on around nine days of the month.
The Race
Des Moines
In October 2014, Kenyan Philip Lagat, who lived in Hebron, Kentucky, won the men's race in 2:12:19, shaving 35 seconds off James Kirwa's 2011 mark, and collected $10,000 plus a $1,000 record bonus. Ethiopia's Abnet Simegn won the women's race in 2:32:28, taking the record from Natalia Sokolova, who finished second in 2:33:41.
The first running of the marathon was held in 2002. The race was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 it celebrated its 20th anniversary with specially designed medals.
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02:12:19
Philip Lagat (2014)
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