Olympians, elite runners headline field for 2022 Pittsburgh Marathon

Margo Malone made a name for herself as a distance runner at North Hills High School before continuing to raise her game at Division I Syracuse where she won an ACC title and earned All-American recognition in the 10,000 meters.

She moved to Boston to join a professional running team and also lived in California to continue her national and international competitive pursuits before moving back to Pittsburgh in early 2020.

Malone, 28, continues her running passion, and she will join a select group of elite half-marathon runners who will take to the Pittsburgh course Sunday morning as part of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon’s in-person return after a two-year covid hiatus.

“It’s a great opportunity to get back out there and mix it up with some of the pros,” said Malone, who owns a personal best half-marathon time of 1 hour, 18 minutes, 2 seconds and ran the half-marathon in Pittsburgh for the first time in 2018.

“It’s unique to come in with a new perspective and also celebrate Pittsburgh and represent the city and region as we host so many runners from all over the country and the world.”

Malone also competed in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials.

“The Pittsburgh Marathon and Half-Marathon are huge events,” she said. “I did the relay once with my siblings, and I would go with my family to watch when I was little. P3R does a great job showcasing the city. It’s nice for the local elites to be able to host the other elites and show off our city.”

P3R CEO Troy Schooley speaks at a press conference Friday morning to kick off this weekend's Pittsburgh Marathon schedule of activities.@TribLIVE @TribSports @kelseyemch @PGHMarathon pic.twitter.com/MkIJzTIyEY

— Michael Love (@Mlove_Trib) April 29, 2022

A gathering once more

Thousands of runners and others participated in virtual runs and other activities in 2020 and last year to keep the Pittsburgh Marathon spirit alive in the face of the covid-related in-person cancellations.

Runners from all 50 states and 11 countries will descend on Pittsburgh this weekend and run Sunday in what is expected to be rainy conditions with temperatures in the mid 50s.

“It is great to be back,” said Troy Schooley, the CEO of P3R, the engine behind some of the biggest races in Pittsburgh throughout the year.

“Through the pandemic, we felt a responsibility to keep people moving and active. But there is nothing like Liberty Avenue on race morning. There’s nothing like running with 30,000 others across our bridges and through city neighborhoods. Many people the past two years were running solo on trails and in their neighborhoods. But to have the masses come back and showcase the city, it’s going to be really special.”

The handcycle division starts everything off Sunday morning at 6:50, followed by the half-marathon elite start, featuring a trio of U.S. Olympians, at 6:55.

The full marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay will go off at 7:05.

More than $100,000 in prize money will be doled out to the top finishers in several men’s and women’s races.

“It’s a great field overall and quite an impressive elite field headlined by the Olympians and also a former Boston Marathon winner,” Schooley said. “There is a wide array of ability levels, and our mission statement is to inspire and support any and all to move. We have some of the best movers in the world, and we have some new movers who are going to come out and move with us.”

Olympic flavor

Schooley said the elite half marathon is stacked, and Olympians Aliphine Tuliamuk, Jared Ward and Abdi Abdirahman will help drive the competition through the streets of Pittsburgh in pursuit of the men’s and women’s $10,000 top prizes.

Ward, who finished sixth in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, lived in Pittsburgh for a time a decade ago while serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He had planned to run in-person in 2020 and 2021 before both events were canceled. He ran 2:15 in the Boston Marathon two weeks ago, but owns a lifetime best of 2:09.25 for the full marathon and 1:01.36 for the half.

“I had a blast living here, and I met so many great people,” Ward said. “I took some Pittsburghese language back with me and a new-found love for sandwiches, sausages and pierogis that are now commonplace lunch and dinner items in my house. It is so great to be able to come back and officially run here.”

Abdirahman, who has confessed his love for the Steelers, also will make his Pittsburgh racing debut. The five-time Olympian became the oldest American runner ever to make the Olympic team when he qualified in 2021 at the age of 43.

Tuliamuk has Pittsburgh Marathon experience, and she will return to the Steel City for her first race since the Tokyo Olympics. She ran her first Pittsburgh Marathon in 2015 (2:34.44) and returned in 2018 to win the USA Half Marathon Championship in a record time of 1:10.04.

Caroline Rotich, the 2015 winner of the Boston Marathon and two-time winner of the New York City Half Marathon (2011 and 2013), will run in Pittsburgh for the first time.

“It will probably be raining for the race, but I do love that weather,” said the 37-year-old Kenyan citizen who owns a personal best of 1:08.52 in the half-marathon.

“When the gun goes off, I am so focused on the race and what I need to run. I don’t mind the cooler conditions.”

Rotich said it’s exciting to travel to new places, and Pittsburgh is on her bucket list.

“I’m motivated to capitalize on my training this spring rather than refocus on another marathon. I am feeling fit and ready to run fast in Pittsburgh.”

Run For A Reason

The Run For A Reason Charity Program this year, with more than 2,500 runners, is expected to raise more than $1 million for local, national and global charities and causes.

“Of the total, 90% of those funds stay local,” Schooley said. “That is super important to us.”

P3R launched the program in 2009 when the Pittsburgh Marathon returned from a five-year hiatus, and since then, more than $14 million has been raised.

The first 500 runners who fundraise $1,500 or more for charity will get a chance to run the back half of the 26.2-mile course, starting in Shadyside and winding through neighborhoods such as Point Breeze, East Liberty, Highland Park, Bloomfield and the Strip District.

Participants can choose from more than 30 official Run For A Reason charity partners.

Walk to the finish

This year, 500 participants will walk a half marathon.

“Walking 13.1 miles is still a feat, and we’re excited to help break down the barrier of people who might not be able to run or feel like they are up to running the whole 13.1,” Schooley said.

“We added the walking division, and it got great reviews from people who might be coming off an injury or who might be coming out of the pandemic not exactly where they want to be at this point.”

A packed weekend

The weekend of activities kicked off Friday with the Pittsburgh Health and Fitness Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The expo continues from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and it will be joined by a 5K race, a toddler trot, a kids’ marathon, and a pet walk leading up to the Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at the convention center.

Fu celebrated

This year’s Pittsburgh Marathon and its weekend of events will honor the memory of longtime marathon supporter Dr. Freddie Fu who died in September at the age of 70.

P3R will introduce the Dr. Freddie Fu Half Marathon Masters Division Awards with an overall purse of $12,000 for those ages 40 and older.

Fu, a renowned orthopedic surgeon who founded the UPMC sports medicine program and also served as the Pitt sports teams’ physician for more than 30 years, was a member of the P3R Board of Directors.

“He was one of the ones who really spearheaded the marathon coming back in 2009, and he was involved even before that,” Schooley said. “He was a great ambassador for this event, so that’s the least we could do to commemorate him.”

Socially speaking

Pittsburgh Marathon information and updates are available throughout the weekend on a number of social platforms, including Twitter: @PGHMarathon, Instagram: @PGHMarathon, Facebook: @DSGPM, Hashtag: #MOVEPIttsburgh and #RunnerOfSteel.

Additional info, including course maps and schedules, can be found on the marathon website at thepittsburghmarathon.com.