Flagstar Bank VP Gary Burkart (4660), Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick (4657) and Detroit Free Press Publisher Heath Meriwether (4659) participate in the Compuware 5K Fun Run and Fitness Walk.

More than 3,000 persons ran, walked, wheeled or handcycled in the 25th annual Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon, and another 850-plus in the 5K run/walk.
There was much to celebrate:
* An exciting new course, again international after terrorist attacks last year kept the race within U.S. borders.
* Crisp fall marathon weather.
* The energy of participants and spectators, start to end.

Angela Strange ran a 2:43:22 PR to win.

This year's marathon winners lent to that international flavor: Kenyan John Kariuki and Canadian Angela Strange were open champions. Wheelchair winners included South African Krige Schabort and Canadian Christy Campbell.
The marathon, presented by Greektown Casino, started downtown in front of Comerica Bank, after brief words from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the national anthem sung by Anita Baker.
The race crossed the Ambassador Bridge, passed through Windsor, Ont., then back to the U.S. through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. It proceeded up Jefferson, took a spin around Belle Isle, then returned to finish downtown at the Lions' new home, Ford Field.
Strange, 23, of Toronto, was women's champion after finishing second last year. "This year's course was definitely harder but more interesting," Strange said. "It was great to go over the bridge."
Strange battled through pain to finish in 2:43:22, chopping two minutes off her previous-best marathon. "I'm in the best shape of my life and aim to get better," she declared.
Runnerup Sarah Plaxton, 34, of Highland, also set a PR, crossing in 2:48:44. "My previous best was 2:54 at the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City," she said. "My previous best here was 2:59. I thought if I had good day, I could set a PR. But I ran even faster than I thought I would."
Heather Webster, 28, of Honeoye Falls, NY, took third behind in 2:50:12. Masters champ Cindy Keeler, 44, of Claremont, Fla., placed fourth overall in 2:50:12.

John Kariuki won the men's race in 2:19:14.

Kariuki, 33, won the men's race in 2:19:14. The Kenyan farmer, who has lived in Chicago the last four years, left the tunnel running side-by-side with defending champ Jacob Kirwa, 26, of Kenya. Kirwa stayed close to Kariuki through 20 miles, then faded to 11th in 2:40:54.
Kariuki, whose marathon PR is 2:12:15, hoped to break Greg Meyer's 1980 Freep record of 2:13:07. "I've been training hard," he said. "Now I'm going home to my wife and two children in Kenya." He will try to return next year. "This is the best course and the best people," Kariuki said.
Fred Kieser, 31, of Lakewood,Ohio, finished second in 2:20:56.
Third place was disputed. Kent Hollingsworth, 40, of Sarnia, Ont., crossed in 2:22:45; runners trailing him questioned how he arrived there. Race officials were trying to resolve the dispute at press time.
Next came Mike Dudley, 32, of Boulder, Col (2:23:11), and Nate Norris, 27, of Westlake, Ohio, (2:25:22).
Wheelchair winners Schabort, 39 (1:39:10), and Campbell, 19 (3:19:05) are past Freep champions: the South African in 1998 and 1999, the Canadian in 2001. Campbell has been the only woman wheeler the last two years.
This year's marathon included a handcycle competition, won by Seth Arseneau, 23, of Grand Rapids (1:14:39) and Julie Bishop, 35, of Sturgeon Lake (2:12:40). A handcycle is tricycle with hand pedals.
In the 5K, winners were Brett Sanborn, 35, of Rochester Hills (16:42) and Rachel Graybill, 32, of Detroit (18:41). MR

Ambassador Bridge photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios.