The race has a chance to be even bigger than the Glass City Marathon. Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken hopes it becomes a yearly event for Toledo.
TOLEDO, Ohio — The Garmin Marathon in Toledo has the potential to be one of the biggest sports events in the city this year. It’s expected by Garmin representatives to be even bigger than the Glass City Marathon later this month.
Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken hopes it will come back every year.
“Garmin’s a big deal for us,” Gerken said. “They could’ve gone to Chicago, New York. It’s not the same reaction. We want them and we’re going to make sure this works for them.”
The Garmin Marathon Series is on Sept. 21, putting the city on the global running map.
“To do this in Toledo, to kick it off with our inaugural event here … it’s really special,” Elliott Scott, a representative for Garmin, said. “I think what people are going to discover is Toledo is an incredible town.”
The full course hasn’t been released yet, but parts of it are known. It passes by or through the Toledo Zoo, Maumee Bay Brewing Company and the Glass City Metropark. Gerken says it will start and end on Summit Street downtown, after giving visitors a well-rounded view of the city.
“You’ll have an urban setting with the downtown, the bridges, the metroparks,” Gerken said. “I don’t think you could lay out a better race course.”
Garmin expects thousands of runners to take part in the race, and the plan is to leave a lasting impression on each of them.
“We really want it to be reflective of Toledo and engage the community and have them be excited about it as well,” Scott said. “We think this will become a destination race.”
The race could have a huge impact on northwest Ohio, too. Gerken says the Glass City Marathon brings in around $1 million to the local economy, and the Garmin race could be even bigger.
“We have the same opportunity here and we could get the same result,” Gerken said. “The biggest impact is more people are coming from other places and seeing us and potentially bringing their business, maybe coming back here.”
It’s not just a marathon, either. There will also be a half marathon, a 10K and a 5K. The marathon is also a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.
This article was published by Chase Bachman on 2025-04-15 23:50:00
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