Detroit Free Press Marathon
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Oct 17, 2027
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The Detroit Free Press Marathon is an international marathon that starts and finishes in downtown Detroit and crosses into Windsor, Ontario, held on a Sunday in mid-October. It has been run since 1978 and is presented by MSU Federal Credit Union. In 2026 the marathon started at 7 a.m. on West Fort Street at 3rd Avenue and finished at the foot of Campus Martius, at Woodward Avenue and Congress Street. The route crosses the Ambassador Bridge into Canada and returns to Detroit through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, then runs through Woodbridge and Indian Village, past Eastern Market and along the Dequindre Cut. The organisers call it one of the few truly international marathon courses in the world. A half marathon, a marathon relay and shorter races take place the same weekend. Runners must finish within 6.5 hours from the moment the Last Chance Pacer crosses the start line. The minimum age is 16. The 2026 weekend drew a record 30,000 participants across all events. Andy Bowman won the men's race for the third time in a row in 2026, breaking the event record of 2:13:07 that Greg Meyer set in 1980.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
Mid-October in Detroit is cool: average highs are around 17°C and lows around 7°C, with rain on about 11 days of the month.
The Race
Detroit
The predecessor of the Free Press Marathon was the Motor City Marathon, which began in 1963 with multiple laps on Belle Isle. The first international marathon, in 1978, was organised by Neal Shine, a former editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, who was inspired by the Falmouth Road Race. From 1978 to 1998 the race started in Windsor and finished in Detroit.
Greg Meyer's winning time of 2:13:07 from 1980 stood as the Free Press Marathon record for 46 years. On 18 October 2026, Andy Bowman of Ferndale broke it with an unofficial 2:12:11, winning his third straight men's title. The women's record of 2:34:16 was set by Elena Orlova in 2004.
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02:12:11
Andy Bowman (2026)
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