North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships

North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships
StatusDefunct
GenreMarathon relay
BeginsOctober 11, 2003
EndsOctober 2, 2004
Frequencyannual
VenueAkron Marathon
Location(s)Akron, Ohio
CountryUnited States
Years active2
ParticipantsCanada, Mexico, United States

The North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships was a men's international team long-distance running competition between North American nations. It was held on two occasions, in 2003 and 2004, both of which were incorporated into the annual Akron Marathon.[1]

The relay format differed from six-man ekiden teams common in Japan, and instead featured teams of five runners covering 10 km legs for the first and third leg, 5 km legs for the second and fourth leg, then a final leg of 12.195 km to complete the classic 42.195 km marathon distance.[2] The prize for first place was US$25,000.[3]

The three competing nations were Canada, Mexico and the United States. Mexico won both competitions, with the United States placing second and Canada third in both 2003 and 2004. Salvador Miranda, Alejandro Suárez and Armando Torres were members of the winning Mexican team in both years and set the championship record of 2:05:30 hours at the first edition.[2][4]

It was the first ever continental marathon relay championship and came five years after the folding of the IAAF World Road Relay Championships in 1998.[5] The North American 5K Championships, also including a team road running format, was formed a year earlier in 2002.[6]

Editions

Edition Year City Country Date No. of
athletes
No. of
nations
1st 2003 Akron, Ohio United States 11 October 2003 15 3
2nd 2004 Akron, Ohio United States 2 October 2004 15 3

Results

Year Gold Silver Bronze
2003  Mexico
Pablo Olmedo (29:43)
Armando Torres (14:27)
Alejandro Suárez (29:58)
Salvador Miranda (16:18)
Teodora Vega (35:04)
2:05:30 CR  United States
Clint Wells (30:05)
Ryan Kirkpatrick (14:34)
Richie Brinker (30:01)
Peter Sherry (15:55)
Nolan Swanson (36:38)
2:07:13  Canada
Matthew Kerr (29:43)
Reid Coolsaet (14:43)
Taylor Murphy (30:52)
Alex Hutchinson (16:39)
Matthew McInnes (37:57)
2:09:54
2004  Mexico
Salvador Miranda (30:08)
Juan Luis Barrios (14:05)
Rafael Sánchez (29:51)
Armando Torres (14:47)
Alejandro Suárez (36:45)
2:05:35  United States
Chris Graff (30:09)
Ahman Dirks (14:55)
Dan Browne (28:57)
Josh Eberly (15:01)
Ryan Shay (36:39)
2:05:39  Canada
Paul Morrison (31:32)
Ryan McKenzie (14:39)
Matt Johnston (30:44)
David Milne (16:01)
Andrew Smith (38:38)
2:11:32

References

  1. ^ AKRON MARATHON CHARITABLE CORPORATION EVENT HIGHLIGHTS & ACHIEVEMENTS. Akron Marathon. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  2. ^ a b 2003 North American Men's Marathon Relay Championship Results. USATF. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  3. ^ Jason Hubbard chosen for US Team at North American Marathon Relay Championships. Colorado Runner (2004-09-20). Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  4. ^ 2004 North American Men's Marathon Relay Championship Results. USATF. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  5. ^ North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  6. ^ North American 5 Kilometres Challenge. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-09-10.