Overview The Grand Rapids Marathon is West Michigan's fall marathon weekend, and its youngest runners finish first: children log 25 miles over the summer, then line up the day before the adults to run the last 1.2 miles of the marathon course, across the same finish line. The weekend also carries the Foster Swift Half Marathon, a marathon relay, the Run Thru The Rapids 5K and 10K and a Health and Fitness Expo, with the David D. Hunting YMCA downtown as its base. University of Michigan Health-West was title sponsor of the 2026 race, billed as the 23rd annual. Run Thru The Rapids, one of Michigan's oldest races, supports YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin. On site Saturday is the expo and the Kids Marathon; Sunday is race day, with a Finish Line Village at the end of the course and printed fencing along it. For the 2025 race, media partner WOOD-TV 8 carried full race-day coverage, and WZZM, WXMI and WWMT ran pre-race interviews. The race sends its weekly Marathon News newsletter every Thursday to nearly 22,000 subscribers, and every day during the ten-day countdown. Audience The organizers describe the field as goal-oriented runners, and the race's own motto is 'For Runners, By Runners.' 87% of runners come from Michigan and 66% live within driving distance; the rest arrive from more than 40 other states and provinces. Many run for a cause, on the Team World Vision and Hope Water International charity teams, and local sports teams staff the volunteer corps. Track record The first Grand Rapids Marathon ran on Halloween 2004. Its two biggest fundraising charities, Team World Vision and Hope Water International, raised nearly $1,000,000 between them in 2023, and the race also supports the YMCA, My Team Triumph, Kent County Parks and Camp Manitou-Lin. The same organizers run the Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon, which had the fastest average finishing times of any marathon in its first two years; the Millennium Meadows Marathon in Millennium Park; and the Groundhog Day Marathon in February, where runners cross the finish line six times on a 4.4-mile loop, with a mascot named Grand Rapids Gus. Brand presence Sponsors get their name on the course fencing, the race shirt and the expo floor, and in front of the newsletter list. Because the team puts on races through the year, one package can run across the Groundhog Day, Millennium Meadows and BQ.2 events as well. The race sells naming rights on the Finish Line Village, course timing and the volunteer corps, and product sponsors take 'the official' titles. Sponsors are hosted at a VIP preview about ten days before race weekend, and their employees can run on discounted or free entries.