Overview The Detroit Free Press Marathon sends its runners into Canada over the Ambassador Bridge at sunrise and back under the Detroit River through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and the race calls itself the only international marathon in North America built that way. Race weekend runs from a Friday expo to Sunday: the marathon, an International Half that makes the same crossing, a Motor City Half that stays in Detroit, a marathon relay and an adaptive athletes division on Sunday, with a 5K, a 1-mile, a Kids Marathon and the Little Detroit Dash on Saturday. The Detroit Free Press started it in 1978, after managing editor Neal Shine came back from the Falmouth Road Race wanting one for Detroit. On site The Kia Health and Fitness Expo fills Huntington Place downtown on Friday and Saturday, free and open to the public, with exhibitors handing out samples and discounts; packet pickup sits at the back of the hall, and anyone running across the border has to collect a bib in person with a passport. Sunday starts on Fort Street in waves three minutes apart from 7 a.m. After the tunnel, the marathon course runs through Woodbridge, the District Detroit, Eastern Market and the Dequindre Cut to a finish at the foot of Campus Martius, where the Conquered afterparty follows. On Saturday the Kids Marathon starts near the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy: children log 25.2 miles in training and run the last mile on race weekend. Audience Runners come from Michigan, across the United States, Canada and beyond, and every cross-border runner arrives with a passport or enhanced license. In 2024 the race gave 250 Detroit Public Schools students from five schools free entry, transportation and new running shoes to finish their Kids Marathon. Track record From 1978 to 1998 the race started in Windsor and finished in Detroit; the Ambassador Bridge has been part of the course since 1999. The race sold out for the first time in 2024, reached capacity by early March in 2025, and the 2026 marathon and International Half both sold out before race day. USA Today readers voted it the best marathon in the U.S. in 2025. The course records belong to Greg Meyer, 2:13:07 in 1980, and Elena Orlova, 2:34:16 in 2004. Brand presence Nearly every piece of the weekend carries a partner: in 2026 MSUFCU presented the race, Kia named the expo and the Conquered afterparty, Priority Health presented the Kids Marathon, Meijer the Little Detroit Dash and Children's Hospital of Michigan the Saturday Family Fun Day. Every runner's event bag carries sponsor gifts along with the bib and shirt. The Detroit Public Schools program ran with Priority Health, Meijer and Bedrock, and the race credits the Ambassador Bridge Company with making the crossing possible.