The SunTrust Richmond Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race held in Richmond, Virginia, USA. It was established in 1978 and has been run every year since. It was known as the Richmond Newspapers Marathon until 1997.
The marathon commences at 7th & Broad Streets and conclude at Cary and 10th Street in front of the James Center. Runners have seven hours in which to complete the marathon.
The inaugural marathon in 1978 saw 1,183 take part in the main event with an additional 900 in the 8 km run and 639 in the half marathon. David Ruggles was the first winner of the marathon with a time of 2:28:49. Bobbie Allen was the first female winner with a time of 3:15:40.
The marathon suffered a decline in participation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with just 434 taking part in 1992. In 1998 the half marathon was dropped, and participation in the main event tripled. Today combined entries for the 8 km, kids run and the marathon exceed 10,000. The 2008 schedule saw the return of the half marathon.
The current course record is held by Andrei Gordeev of Belarus, who ran 2:14:32 in 2005. The female record is held by Irina Suvorova who ran 2:31:25 in 2000.
RICHMOND, VA – With a time of 2:13:45, Kenya’s Kennedy Kemei, 33, set a new course record today in the 2011 SunTrust Richmond Marathon. The previous course record was 2:14:32, set by Andrei Gordeev in 2005. Kemei walked away with a total of $5,500 in prize money - $2,500 for the first place finish, an additional $2,500 for setting a new course record, and a bonus of $500 for finishing under two hours and twenty minutes. Mekides Bekele, a 25-year-old Ethiopian, was the first female to cross the finish line, clocking in at 2:47:50.