"It seems like they made a wrong turn and just decided to keep moving on the course," instead of trying back out with a sea of runners behind them, which might have been hazardous, he said.Īt a marathon? "Never a dull moment," Velthoven quipped. They were vendors who oversee portable generators on the race course, Velthoven said. These were the kind seen on golf courses and farms, sometimes called ATVs for "all-terrain vehicles." Like the Malibu, they too were flagged down and directed to the side of the course, then followed by stunned race officials on foot as the ATVs crept away from the runners and out of the finish-line chutes. This gives the Detroit Free Press Marathon the 225th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. Last year 7.98 of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 8.15 of runners qualified for Boston in 2021. last year and was the 15th largest in 2021. Two open-air, four-wheeled utility trucks lumbered across the finish line. The Detroit Free Press Marathon was the 26th largest marathon in the U.S. A spokesman for the Detroit police said later that any report of the incident would need to wait until Monday.Īn hour later, another surprise drove up to the finish line. "We did our best to keep the runners safe" throughout the incident, Velthoven said. What appears to be an unrelated race vehicle, heads through the finish line at the 45th Annual Detroit Free Press Marathon in Detroit on Sunday, Oct. Relax in our Brand New All-Suite Staybridge Suites Hotel in Southgate Michigan Located minutes from. One of the biggest draws for the runners of the Free Press Marathon is the hometown atmoshpere which is ever present at every turn on the course. Inside, two bewildered individuals peered from its windows, while outside race officials yelled frantically at the driver to stop. Hotel in Southgate MI with kitchens near Detroit. Instead, in a marathon first, an ordinary Chevrolet Malibu with what appeared to be rental plates strayed onto the course near its end, then crept across the finish line at about 10:30 a.m. This was not an official pace car, not a police squad car, not an emergency vehicle. What he hopes not to see ever again is an ordinary car compete with tired marathon runners for space on the pavement, Velthoven said. The Michigan stop is the closest to the Finish, Gear Check, Runners Reunite and Conquered afterparty. The Fort/Cass station is the closest to the Start Line. Those are sights that everyone seems to want to see again, said Aaron Velthoven, Free Press Marathon vice president and executive race producer. A possible strategy would be to park outside the Marathon course, and take the People Mover into it. Although chockful of water views, Belle Isle is generally bereft of spectators and often buffets athletes with the strongest winds of the race.Īnother historic addition was the Military Mile on East Lafayette, where military vehicles and veterans groups convened to cheer on the racers while providing a unique diversion for runners, book-ended at each end by huge American flags draped from elevated crane arms. "Pretty much all the comments I heard were positive about the course changes," Dubrish said, adding: "I don't think anybody really missed going on Belle Isle," a long-time feature of the Free Press Marathon, going back to the event's very first running in 1978. A vehicle is seen on the marathon course near the finish line during the 45th Annual Detroit Free Press Marathon in Detroit on Sunday, Oct.
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