Detroit Free Press Marathon

The Detroit Free Press Marathon is Detroit's fall marathon, held on a Sunday in mid-October, and one of the few big-city races that crosses an international border. The international distances cross into Windsor, Ontario, and use both the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel under the Detroit River, so every runner on them needs a valid travel document to take part. Back on the U.S. side, the marathon route runs through Detroit neighborhoods including historic Woodbridge, the District Detroit and Eastern Market, and along the Dequindre Cut greenway, before finishing at the foot of Campus Martius downtown. Runners go off in waves at three-minute intervals from 7 a.m., with pace groups covering goal times from three to six hours. The course stays open for 6.5 hours, and the finish line closes at 2 p.m. Entrants must be at least 16 on race day. The race weekend is much bigger than the marathon alone. It includes two half marathons (the International Half, which also crosses into Canada, and the Motor City Half, which stays in Detroit), a marathon relay, a 5K, a 1-mile run, a Kids Marathon and the Meijer Little Detroit Dash, with a health and fitness expo on Friday and Saturday for packet pickup. More than 26,000 people registered across all of the weekend's events in 2025. Registration runs on EnMotive with rising price tiers through the year, and the marathon and half marathons have sold out ahead of race day. Every finisher in every race receives a medal. Entry fees are non-refundable, but an entry can be transferred to another runner or deferred to the following year.