Richmond Marathon
Encyclopedia
The SunTrust Richmond Marathon is an annual marathon
foot-race held in Richmond
, Virginia
, USA
. It was established in 1978 and has been run every year since. It was known as the Richmond Newspapers Marathon until 1997.
The marathon commences at 7th & Broad Streets and conclude at Cary and 10th Street in front of the James Center. Runners have seven hours in which to complete the marathon.
. David Ruggles was the first winner of the marathon with a time of 2:28:49. Bobbie Allen was the first female winner with a time of 3:15:40.
The marathon suffered a decline in participation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with just 434 taking part in 1992. In 1998 the half marathon was dropped, and participation in the main event tripled. Today combined entries for the 8 km, kids run and the marathon exceed 10,000. The 2008 schedule saw the return of the half marathon.
The current course record is held by Andrei Gordeev of Belarus
, who ran 2:14:32 in 2005. The female record is held by Irina Suvorova who ran 2:31:25 in 2000.
SunTrust Richmond Marathon. The previous course record was 2:14:32, set by Andrei Gordeev in 2005. Kemei walked
away with a total of $5,500 in prize money - $2,500 for the first place finish,
an additional $2,500 for setting a new course record, and a bonus of $500 for
finishing under two hours and twenty minutes. Mekides Bekele, a 25-year-old
Ethiopian, was the first female to cross the finish line, clocking in at 2:47:50.
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
foot-race held in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in 1978 and has been run every year since. It was known as the Richmond Newspapers Marathon until 1997.
The marathon commences at 7th & Broad Streets and conclude at Cary and 10th Street in front of the James Center. Runners have seven hours in which to complete the marathon.
History
The inaugural marathon in 1978 saw 1,183 take part in the main event with an additional 900 in the 8 km run and 639 in the half marathonHalf marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
. David Ruggles was the first winner of the marathon with a time of 2:28:49. Bobbie Allen was the first female winner with a time of 3:15:40.
The marathon suffered a decline in participation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with just 434 taking part in 1992. In 1998 the half marathon was dropped, and participation in the main event tripled. Today combined entries for the 8 km, kids run and the marathon exceed 10,000. The 2008 schedule saw the return of the half marathon.
The current course record is held by Andrei Gordeev of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, who ran 2:14:32 in 2005. The female record is held by Irina Suvorova who ran 2:31:25 in 2000.
2011 Event
RICHMOND, VA – With a time of 2:13:45, Kenya’s Kennedy Kemei, 33, set a new course record today in the 2011SunTrust Richmond Marathon. The previous course record was 2:14:32, set by Andrei Gordeev in 2005. Kemei walked
away with a total of $5,500 in prize money - $2,500 for the first place finish,
an additional $2,500 for setting a new course record, and a bonus of $500 for
finishing under two hours and twenty minutes. Mekides Bekele, a 25-year-old
Ethiopian, was the first female to cross the finish line, clocking in at 2:47:50.