Approximately 17,000 registered runners from age 12 to 83 took to the streets of the Emerald City this weekend to participate in the 10th running of the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon & ½ Marathon. With a renewed focus on the core pillars of Bringing Fun to the Run™ with great music in a community environment, runners of all athletic levels enjoyed the sights and sounds of Seattle.

The best-in-class running event kicked off on Saturday morning with a 5K run at the Museum of Flight. The main event took place on Sunday, with runners from 49 states and 37 countries taking off on a tour of Seattle. With a brand-new run course, the race started at the Seattle Center (home of the Space Needle) and took runners through some of the city’s best neighborhoods, including Queen Anne. Runners passed by miles of waterfront views and traveled through Eastlake, one of the city’s most popular areas. The course led Marathon participants on the historic Viaduct and to a finish at the Seattle Center.

In the marathon, Joseph Darda (Fort Worth, Texas.) broke the tape as the overall champion finishing in 2:33:23. Bennett Grimes (Seattle, Wash.) finished in second with a time of 2:39:48 as Masanori Okabe (Moses Lake, Wash.) rounded out the podium in third finishing in 2:43:02. Katryna Williams (Seattle, Wash.)  was the women’s marathon champion with a final time of 3:05:14. Katelyn Gates (Edmonds, Wash.) took the second-place spot in 3:09:49 and Jessica Lukasik (Seattle, Wash.) finish third in 3:12:55. Marathon finishers were treated to a brand-new recovery zone that included massages and catered food.

In the half marathon, Michael Eaton (Seattle, Wash.) won the race with his first-place effort clocking a time of 1:07:42. Jonathan Lafler (Seattle, Wash.) was second with a time of 1:08:16. Roosevelt Cook (Hesperia, Calif.) followed in third place finishing in 1:09:57. Anna Farello (El Segundo, Cali.) was the women’s champion with a final time of 1:19:20 with Jen Moroz (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) next behind her at 1:19:54. Bridget End (Boulder, Col.) rounded out the podium in 1:21:14.

Elite runners and fast times aside, Sunday’s races were all about the party atmosphere. Several local bands, including The W Lovers and The Insinuators performed live on improved band stages along the route interspersed with cheerleaders and themed water stations. Participants moved along to more music than ever with all new mile-markers that included speakers and race pacers who ran with mobile speaker packs.

The musically themed road race celebrated the day’s accomplishments with the sounds of the Old 97’s, who brought the best of rootsy, country-influenced songwriting with a punk rock energy to the stage as the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series headliner.

For complete results or for information on 2019 event, visit RunRocknRoll.com/Seattle.

For more information on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, please visit www.runrocknroll.com. Media may contact press@runrocknroll.com.