Niagara Falls International Marathon

Last updated
Niagara Falls International Marathon
DateOctober
Location Buffalo, US–Niagara Falls, Canada
Event type Road
DistanceMarathon
Established1974(50 years ago) (1974)
Official site Niagara Falls International Marathon

The Niagara Falls International Marathon is an annual marathon running competition from Buffalo, New York, United States to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, first held in 1974.

Contents

It is one of the few marathons in the world that starts in one country and finishes in another. Some other marathons cross international borders but return to the start, like the Monaco Marathon and the Unionsmarathon. The Niagara Falls International Marathon passes a border control, while the mentioned European borders have no border control thanks to the Schengen Union. The participants of the Niagara Falls Marathon have to show passport or NEXUS card at the start, which will be given back at the finish line or kept by the racer during the race. [1]

History

The marathon was first held on October 26, 1974, as the Skylon International Marathon, with Jesse Kregal as founder and race director. [2] [3] [4] The race was named the Buffalo Niagara Falls International Marathon from 1983 to 1986. [2]

In 1985, runners were led off the course, and used multiple different routes to get back on the course, resulting in unusual times and placements. [2]

The marathon had a ten-year break from 1987 to 1996 before it was relaunched in 1997 as the Niagara Falls Marathon. From 1998 to 2008, it was known as the Casino Niagara International Marathon. [2]

The course records are held by Peter Pfitzinger, who ran 2:17:10 in 1980, and Nicole Stevenson of Canada, whose time of 2:37:09 in 2004 is the women's record. [2]

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. [5] [6]

Course

External image
Searchtool.svg Course map of full marathon in 2018 [7]

The marathon begins in Buffalo, New York at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The first 6.5 kilometers (4.0 mi) are along the historic parkways of Buffalo before crossing the Peace Bridge into Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The remainder of the route is in Canada. After a very brief segment following the Queen Elizabeth Way, the route curves south and then north again along the Niagara Parkway, a landscaped road which winds along the Niagara River. Kilometer 42, the end of the race, faces the Niagara Falls on the U.S.-Canada international border in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Winners

Key:  Course record

Ed.YearMen's winnerTime [lower-alpha 1] Women's winnerTime [lower-alpha 1] Rf.
11974Flag of the United States.svg  Russell Pate  (USA)2:22:53Flag of the United States.svg  Ellen Turkel  (USA)2:58:16 [2]
21975Flag of the United States.svg  Marty Sudzina  (USA)2:23:16Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Eleanor Thomas  (CAN)3:16:18 [2]
31976Flag of the United States.svg  Bill Stewart  (USA)2:24:01 Patricia Hall 2:58:49 [2]
41977Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Richard Hughson  (CAN)2:20:31Flag of the United States.svg  Susan Kahler  (USA)3:00:11 [2]
51978Flag of the United States.svg  Carl Hatfield  (USA)2:17:21Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Jacqueline Gareau  (CAN)2:57:01 [2]
61979Flag of the United States.svg  David Smith  (USA)2:17:30.1Flag of the United States.svg  Virginia Kraft  (USA)2:52:18 [2]
71980Flag of the United States.svg  Peter Pfitzinger  (USA)2:17:10Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Leslie Watson  (GBR)2:54:57 [2]
81981Flag of the United States.svg  Terry Stanley  (USA)2:18:50Flag of the United States.svg  Nancy Mieszczak  (USA)2:40:48 [2]
91982Flag of the United States.svg  Terry Stanley  (USA)2:22:18Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Heather Clemenson  (CAN)2:58:49 [2]
101983Flag of the United States.svg  Bernie Prabucki  (USA)2:21:28Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Vicki Scanlon  (CAN)2:56:38 [2]
111984Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Rick Mannen  (CAN)2:19:40Flag of the United States.svg  Deborah Dye  (USA)2:55:18 [2]
121985Flag of the United States.svg  Mark Coleman  (USA)2:30:29Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Charlene MacDonald  (CAN)3:07:20 [2]
131986Flag of Japan.svg  Kazuya Nishimoto  (JPN)2:17:35Flag of Italy.svg  Maria Grazia Navacchia  (ITA)2:50:49 [2]
not held from 1987 to 1996 [2]
141997Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Glen Marttila  (CAN)2:37:53Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Katie Dosser  (CAN)2:55:41 [2]
151998Flag of Bermuda.svg  Brett Forgesson  (BER)2:39:59Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Glenda Morris  (CAN)3:06:31 [2] [8]
161999Flag of Malawi.svg  Smartex Tambala  (MAW)2:29:13Flag of Japan.svg  Eriko Asai  (JPN)2:50:48 [2]
172000Flag of Kenya.svg  Joseph Maina  (KEN)2:21:45.2Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Danuta Bartoszek  (CAN)2:38:29.8 [2]
182001Flag of Burundi.svg  Jean-Paul Niyonsaba  (BDI)2:24:28.5Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Danuta Bartoszek  (CAN)2:46:42.4 [2]
192002Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Shingirai Badza  (ZIM)2:27:53.5Flag of the United States.svg  Cindy Keeler  (USA)2:50:18.3 [2]
202003Flag of Kenya.svg  Wilson Komen  (KEN)2:23:13.8Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Leslie Carson  (CAN)2:54:25.5 [2]
212004Flag of Kenya.svg  Moses Cheserek  (KEN)2:22:22.0Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Nicole Stevenson  (CAN)2:37:08.6 [2] [9]
222005Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Matthew McInnes  (CAN)2:21:46.4Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Nicole Stevenson  (CAN)2:46:41.7 [2]
232006Flag of Kenya.svg  Simon Njoroge  (KEN)2:18:12.9Flag of Ukraine.svg  Elena Rozhko  (UKR)2:43:16.1 [2]
242007Flag of Kenya.svg  Thomas Omwenga  (KEN)2:33:12.5Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Louise Voghel  (CAN)3:02:36.3 [2]
252008Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Matt Loiselle  (CAN)2:27:33.2Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Elizabeth Primrose  (CAN)2:55:26.6 [2]
262009Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Andrew Smith  (CAN)2:27:53.9Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Tara Quinn  (CAN)2:46:40.9 [2]
272010Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Steve Bohan  (CAN)2:27:48.1Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Jill Gamble  (CAN)2:56:10.8 [2]
282011Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Brendan Kenny  (CAN)2:28:47.7Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Meggan Franks  (CAN)2:52:17.8 [2]
292012Flag of Kenya.svg  Bernard Arasa  (KEN)2:26:04.1Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Paula Wiltse  (CAN)2:51:57.5 [2]
302013Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Lucas McAneney  (CAN)2:22:41.6Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Paula Wiltse  (CAN)2:48:54.1 [2]
312014Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Lucas McAneney  (CAN)2:27:58.0Flag of the United States.svg  Stephanie Strittmatter  (USA)2:58:02.8 [2]
322015Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Taylor Kraayenbrink  (CAN)2:30:55Flag of Poland.svg  Paulina Golic  (POL)2:53:11 [2]
332016Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  David Savard-Gagnon  (CAN)2:30:32Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Lindsay Moreau  (CAN)3:17:28 [2] [10]
342017Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Stuart Galloway  (CAN)2:51:07Flag of the United States.svg  Al Tufano  (USA)3:29:14 [2] [11]
352018Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Kyle Greig  (GBR)2:28:45Flag of the United States.svg  Courtney Laderer  (USA)2:59:08 [12] [13]
362019Flag of the United States.svg  Tom Anderson  (USA)2:44:12Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Cassandra Tomas  (CAN)3:18:20 [14] [15] [16]
2020cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic [5]
2021
372022Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Alex Yu  (CAN)2:35:13Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Tiffany Newell  (CAN)2:52:24 [17]
382023Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Alex Yu  (CAN)2:37:08Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Wendy Rading  (CAN)3:10:09 [18]

See also

Notes

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References

  1. Frequently Asked Questions
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Niagara Falls International Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (October 23, 2011). Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  3. "Blogs & Media – Niagara Falls 5k, 10k, Half & International Marathon".
  4. "Archive.ph".
  5. 1 2 "Niagara Falls 5k, 10k, Half & International Marathon – Run to the bri…".
  6. "Niagara Falls INTL Marathon on Instagram: "After waiting as long as possible and considering all options for the Niagara Falls races, we've made the difficult decision to cancel our 2020 event. With a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the status of the COVID-19 virus, the uncertainty of what public gatherings will be allowed and the health of our runners it is not worth the risk. We look forward to hosting you again when conditions are hopefully more favourable on October 24 weekend in 2021"".
  7. "Marathon – Niagara Falls 5k, 10k, Half & International Marathon".
  8. "Athlete Profile: Brett Forgesson".
  9. "Casino Niagara International Marathon". March 2005.
  10. "David Savard-Gagnon, marathonien | Vidéos | ICI Radio-Canada.ca".
  11. "Here Are the Boston Marathon Runners from Columbia". April 15, 2019.
  12. "Results". results.raceroster.com.
  13. "Kyle GREIG | Profile | World Athletics".
  14. "Results". results.raceroster.com.
  15. "Club Records".
  16. "Celebrating environmentally-conscious people".
  17. "Results Niagara Falls 5k, 10k, Half & International Marathon 2022". results.raceroster.com. October 23, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  18. "Niagara Falls International Marathon - Marathon". Sportstats. October 22, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.