Grand Rapids Marathon

The Grand Rapids Marathon is an annual USATF-certified marathon held each October in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and one of the longest-running road races in the state, with history dating back to 2004. Since 2023 the event has carried the title sponsorship of University of Michigan Health-West and is branded on official race materials as the University of Michigan Health-West Grand Rapids Marathon. The certified course is a Boston Marathon qualifier, starting and finishing in downtown Grand Rapids and crossing the historic Sixth Street Bridge over the Grand River. Runners pass the DeVos Place convention center, the Amway Grand Plaza, and the burial site of former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford before heading toward Millennium Park for a scenic stretch past lakes and newly paved multi-use paths. The route is mostly flat, with a rolling section between miles 7 and 12, and finishes back in downtown Grand Rapids. Race weekend also includes a half marathon, marathon relay, 5K, 10K, and kids' race, drawing a combined field of roughly 4,500 to 5,000 runners in recent years. Aid stations are spaced about every 1.5 miles along the course, and there is no hard finish cutoff, though official course support ends around 2:00 PM.