SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The 26th Annual Steamtown Marathon zipped through the Electric City Sunday morning.
The US Track and Field certified event happens each Columbus Day weekend, enticing first-time participants, and bringing longtime runners back for another go.
Sunday morning thousands of people converged in downtown Scranton. People from all over came to the Electric City to watch, cheer, or run in the marathon.
The first-place male runner says he prepared for this race by running 70 to 100 miles a week leading up to this marathon.
“You’re running a lot by yourself you’re doing a lot of training by yourself it’s tiring so to kind of just see it all you know come together for like a race is just, it’s always really special. It’s almost like a sense of relief that everything that you did was worth it on race day,” said Steamtown Marathon first-place male runner Rob Desisto.
He says he looks forward to a long drive back home to Atlanta with his girlfriend and dog.
The women’s first-place winner says she’s been running for 15 years.
A lot of practice and training went into this moment, but they all say they couldn’t have done it without the support of the crowd.
“It means a lot, anyone who called my name or said it, it makes this such a great race for me knowing that I’m home and that the community is so supportive,” said first place female Steamtown Marathon runner Heidi Peoples.
One woman who came from Connecticut to compete and is a mother of nine says her family’s support means the world to her.
“The older children when they were little, they would travel with us all the time and it was nice to see them all lined up and cheering and um it’s the best. couldn’t do it without the support of the family,” said the 10th place female runner in the Steamtown Marathon Latoya Harwell.
This is the seventh time Peoples has taken a victory lap in the Electric City.
Proceeds from the Steamtown Marathon go to benefit Saint Joseph’s Center in Scranton.
