A year ago, Tyler Medrano redeemed himself in the second Kids Marathon after finishing as the runner-up in the inaugural event in 2024. This year, he aimed for a new accomplishment: winning it again.
Medrano outpaced a group of nearly 800 children between the ages of 6 and 13 to become the first-ever back-to-back winner of the event during the third annual Kids Marathon, presented by Priority Health on Saturday, Oct. 17, part of the 49th annual Detroit Free Press Marathon.
The accomplishment took some time to sink in for the 13 year-old.
"I can't really believe I won again," Medrano said, winded from the race. "It was pretty surreal to run and finish first again."
Medrano, who attends Clifford Smart Middle School in Commerce Township, credited his cross country coach for preparing him for the race.
His father Steve Medrano had nothing but praise for his son's accomplishment.
"I'm extremely proud of him. He works extremely hard. He runs almost everyday," said Steve Medrano, noting Tyler's participation in soccer and cross country at school. "He sets a goal and works as hard as he can to achieve it."
More goals met across the finish line
Participants in the Kids Marathon had to track and complete their first 25.2 miles before Saturday, then dash across the finish line for the final mile on race day.
Of the total runners in the event, half were students from five Detroit Public School Community District schools as part of a program that offered free registration and running shoes, in addition to transportation and Savvy Sliders as a post-race treat.
Golightly Education Center, John R. King and Davison Elementary-Middle School returned for a third year, while Mark Twain School for Scholars and Bates Academy participated for the second straight year. Academy of the Americas, Edmonson Montessori Elementary and Fisher Magnet Upper Academy all took part for the first time.
Since the event's inception, participation from the DPSCD schools has grown by 60%. The inaugural year saw 250 students and increased to 300 last year. This year's event showcased 400 students from the district.
Ocean Lewis, a sixth grader at Bates Academy, took part for the first time this year. The 11-year-old said she enjoyed her time, but said it went by "super quickly."
Lewis, a cheerleader and swimmer, said she is proud to have run in the Kids Marathon.
"I feel like past [me] wouldn't expect me to do be doing this," she said.
Lewis' mother, Khadeejah Lasuc Lewis, credited the school district for introducing Lewis to the event.
"Running a marathon wasn't even anything we considered until she brought the flyer home from school and was excited to do it," Lewis said. "I love the 25 miles ahead because it's gotten her outside and running and tracking. So it's cool for her to be able to set a goal and plan for it and track, so I think there's a lot of benefits to that, too, outside the physical benefits."
When the Kids Marathon began two years ago, the mission indeed was to help the children learn how to set goals and build healthy habits. Davison Principal Randall Coleman has seen the change in his students.
"Our track and field team has definitely expanded with us participating in this program, and we want to get kids out from off the cell phones and in front of the video games to get them out active and healthy," Coleman said. "So this has been a great incentive for those students, and our numbers have increased every year that we've participated."
John Carson, dean of students and athletic director of John R. King, said this event is all about opportunity.
"What it really comes down to is having opportunities for kids to participate in something," Carson said. "Obviously, when you have things for them to do, they'll get engaged, and obviously parent participation is really key. So they're supporting the effort by letting the kids participate in events like this, and be a part of all these athletics and running."
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X:@EGuzmanreports.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kids Marathon gets first repeat winner in event history