It has become much harder to win the big races at the Detroit marathon, with the prestige, cash awards and level of competition now higher than ever.
This year will be the second year for the Elite Field at the Detroit Free Press Marathon presented by MSU Federal Credit Union.
These 100 elite runners will be competing in the marathon and international half-marathon at the same time as everyone else on Sunday morning, Oct. 19, but will undoubtedly finish way ahead.
The field’s director, Zach Ornelas, a past two-time winner of the marathon, has recruited a roster of male and female standouts for what is sure to be the event’s most stacked field of talent in decades, perhaps ever. The marathon’s all-time records for men (2:13:07) and women (2:34:16) could be in serious jeopardy.
On the men’s side, the runner to beat is Andy Bowman, 31, of Ferndale, who won last year’s marathon with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 47 seconds.
Ornelas, who lives in Ann Arbor, said he has brought in some runners who should really push Bowman on Sunday, including a recent University of Michigan graduate by the name of Tom Brady.
No, not that U-M grad Tom Brady. But track star Tom Brady, who holds the U-M record in the outdoor 10,000 meters race (28:21) and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university.
There won’t be a defending winner competing this year on the women’s side. That is because Sydney Devore-Bowman — who is married to Andy Bowman — just gave birth to their first baby last month.
The marathon’s organizers created the Elite Field to raise the profile of the overall event. To encourage elites to sign up, they grew the size of the prize purse and began comping hotel rooms for the very top recruits.
The first male and female finishers in the marathon will each get $5,000 and everyone else in the top five will also get money. There also are cash prizes for the top three masters division finishers.
And the top five in the international and the U.S.-only half-marathons will get prize money as well.
Ornelas said part of his recruiting strategy was reaching out to some runners who are just short of the time thresholds needed to qualify for the elite fields at higher-profile marathons.
“My goal is to treat them like they are an Olympian, like they are one of the world’s best, and give them everything they need to be successful on race day,” he said.
“I’d like to see us as kind of an American developmental race,” he added, “where I won’t be hurt if they choose to run Chicago or New York or whatever next year, because our race has helped them run the time they need to get into those experiences.”
Those in Sunday’s Elite Field will get access to a warming tent and separate bathrooms near the starting line, plus five special fluid stations along the 26.2-mile course for their own personal drinks, such as specially formulated high-sodium concoctions.
“We are one of just a very small list of races in the country that offers elite fluids, because it is a very big project,” Ornelas said.
A faster course
The Free Press marathon wasn’t known as a particularly fast course to run until a 2022 course change, which eliminated a windy loop around Belle Isle that came near the end of the race and seemed to slow everybody down.
The marathon’s official records, set back in 1980 for men and in 2004 for women, are for the event — not for the actual course being run.
“The new course is built more for speed than the old course was,” Ornelas said. “There’s really only a few hills.”
Ornelas, 34, won the Detroit marathon in 2013 and 2015. He has since qualified for the Olympic trials in 2020 and 2024, finished in the top three at the Boston Marathon on three occasions and holds a personal best of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 1 second.
Ornelas still runs competitively and has been sponsored in the past by Puma and Tracksmith.
He is a coach for the Saline High School boys cross-country team, and recently took a break from teaching English and philosophy at Saline High to help at home with his and his wife’s two toddlers.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: So many elite runners means course records are up for grabs at 2025 Detroit marathon
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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