DETROIT, Mich. — Andy Bowman of Ferndale has won the Detroit Marathon three years in a row, and on Sunday he also took the oldest mark in the race. The 32-year-old finished the full course in 2:12:11, beating the 2:13:07 that Greg Meyer posted in 1980.
That works out to an average pace of 5:03 per mile. Bowman collected $3,000 for the win, plus a $150 bonus as a Michigan runner and $500 more for the record. An Indiana runner finished second in 2:18:50, and Noah Verlinde, who grew up in Armada, took third in 2:19:54.
On the women’s side, Allison Sherman of Lake Orion won in 2:43:30. The 26-year-old, a Lake Orion High School track alum who also competed for Detroit Mercy, said Sunday marked her fifth marathon and her first victory, a year after her debut in the Detroit race.
In the half marathon, JP Flavin won the men’s title and Megan O’Neil took the women’s crown.
Organizers counted a record 30,000 participants for the 49th edition of a race that started in 1978. The international route sends runners over the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor and back under the river through the tunnel before the finish at Woodward and Congress.
Whether Bowman returns for the 50th race is an open question. Chicago, held about two weeks earlier, is slated to host the USATF marathon championship, and Bowman said he faces a hard choice. Only Doug Kurtis has won Detroit more often, with six straight titles from 1987 to 1992.
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