BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Marathon kicked off early Sunday morning, and racers started crossing the finish line around 9 a.m.
James Dickinson of East Northport, New York was the first male finisher of the race with a time of 2 hours and 32 minutes. He had a pace of around 5 minutes and 49 seconds per mile.
The first female finisher was Whitney Heavner who finished with a time of 2 hours and 56 minutes. Heavner is from Bethesda, Maryland. Her average pace per mile was 6 minutes and 53 seconds.
More than 5,000 runners were out on the streets of Buffalo trying to compete in the races. Runners from 13 countries and 41 states participated this year.
"Last year, when we came out of COVID and we had a regular race, the numbers were down," said Greg Weber, executive director of the Buffalo Marathon.
"This is the first full year back, and everything is running really well, especially with the climb-in runners. We're not quite back to where we want to be but we're well on our way."
The Buffalo Marathon completely sold out in April.