04-05-2025
Runners take to the streets for 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon Sunday races
Runners take to the streets for 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon Sunday races
Runners take to the streets for 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon Sunday races
Runners take to the streets for 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon Sunday races
It was race weekend here in the Steel City as hundreds of thousands flooded downtown for the Pittsburgh Marathon.
From Downtown to the West End to Homewood and everywhere in between, 23,000 people laced up their sneakers to participate in the Pittsburgh Marathon.
Thousands of people lined downtown to cheer on the 23,000 runners who participated in Sunday's marathon, relay, or half marathon.
Crossing the finish line first for the half was Dominic Ondoro, who came back to compete in Pittsburgh.
"I am so happy to win this race. I'm feeling so awesome," Ondoro said.
The women's half-marathon winner says it was at the 10-mile mark when she knew she had won.
"I think today was the right time for me. I just want to do well. The goal was to do well, but in the back of my mind, I wanted to win," said winner Everlyn Kemboi.
The full marathon elite runners completed the hilly 26.2-mile course in just a few hours, bringing in some cash prizes.
"Yes, I was working towards winning. It was in my mind the whole time," said Mulgeta Birhanu Feyissa, winner of the men's race.
"It means a lot because last year I came here and won, but I was having a tough time, so I'm happy today because I felt in control," said Jane Bareickis, winner of the women's race.
Among the thousands of runners was a group racing for a purpose. Just weeks ago, Don Slusser, a legendary runner, Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate, and one of only eight men to run every Pittsburgh Marathon since it began in 1985, died before another marathon he was supposed to run.
Friends and family honored his memory by carrying his bib number 1226 across the course he loved so much for one last time.
"He never missed a marathon, he never missed a Great Race," said Roger McGuire, a friend of Slusser's. "They decided to honor him by having a relay team, and I was honored to be the anchor."
If you're feeling up to it, registration for next year's Pittsburgh Marathon will be open by Monday.
