By MATT PIKE
The fourth edition of the St. Joseph Marathon was yet another successful event for the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
With a goal of 700 runners in this year's marathon, the marathon surpassed that on Saturday, September 26th, as a record 716 runners departed from the starting line and finished the different legs of the marathon. Sports Commission Director Brett Esely says it was a great day for all involved.
"I think everybody that runs the race runs for different reasons, I shared that we would have elite runners in the field, we did, I knew we would have first time runners in the field, we did," Esely says on the KFEQmunnity show. "We had people that were bucket list runners, 50 state runners, runners that came out and pushed a stroller around the course, just wanted to be involved."
Esely says he wouldn't change anything about this year's event and says he believes the next attainable goal is to hit 800 runners in year five. This year's marathon saw growth in nearly every area.
"Anywhere from our 5k to our half event, which our half marathon has always been our most popular distance," Esely explains. "Our relay race this year saw the most growth, we went from two marathon relay teams in the 2025 marathon race to nine teams this year."
As for future growth in the marathon, Esely says he hopes to see ways to increase participation in the full marathon.
"Every year we've had anywhere from 90 to 100 runners, I think it's realistic to get to the 150 mark, I think there's a number of different ways we can get there," Esely says. "But, as I look at growth, obviously we want to maintain and grow our other distances that have been popular but would really like to see what it looks like to grow that full marathon distance, considering we call this the St. Joseph Marathon."
Discussions and exploration will soon begin on plans for the future of the St. Joseph Marathon as the St. Joseph Sports Commission will begin planning for the fifth annual race in 2027.
Interview
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.