(CBS-DETROIT) — There was some marathon magic at the finish line in Detroit on Sunday. The men’s and women’s race winners of the 2024 Detroit Free Press Marathon are not only Metro Detroit athletes who overcame injuries to win, but also husbands and wives.
Bowman family
The two ran 42.2 kilometers straight into each other’s arms.
“I saw he was winning, and I thought, ‘He’s doing it, and I’m doing it,’” said Sydney Devore-Bowman, the winner of the women’s race. “This thing that we dared to dream that we could make possible actually happened. And then it just became like, ‘Don’t screw it up now.’
Devore-Bowman won the women’s race in 2:42:46, just 25 minutes behind her husband, Andrew Bowman. He won the men’s race at 2:17:47.
The couple had to run past each other around 20 miles.
“When we pass each other, we usually like to give a slap, a kiss or something like that, and when I saw that I thought, ‘Phew, okay, now just focus on yourself and survive.’ Because I was struggling the last three miles,” said Andrew Bowman.
The couple are from Ferndale and celebrated their victories with their local club.
“I just can’t think of a better way to celebrate winning a local marathon with our local running group in our hometown. It’s just fantastic,” said Bowman.
Bowman family
They said you can’t miss the Detroit Marathon, no matter your skill level.
“Walk/run; find a way. There’s nothing like seeing Detroit come alive like it did today,” Devore-Bowman said.
Sydney said her running journey started at her high school in Florida.
“Because I’m bad at all sports, I don’t have hand-eye coordination. And my guidance counselor said that you can only get into a good university if you have some extracurricular training. So running was the only option for me,” she said. .
She said she eventually fell in love with the sport and quickly became a strong athlete. Runs for the University of Florida before becoming a professional runner.
Andrew grew up in Michigan as a runner before joining the team at Oakland University. He and Sydney met at a race in Michigan.
And the couple aren’t the only athletes in the family. Andrew’s mother also ran the Detroit Marathon, finishing third in her age group.
And the couple can’t put their feet up yet. In three weeks they will run a 10-mile race in Pittsburgh, and three weeks after that another marathon in California.
Before the Detroit Free Press Marathon, both were injured during a trail race.
“There was a good stretch where I didn’t think I was going to make it to this starting line,” Devore-Bowman said.
Both held on to take home the wins.
