Runners raced (or trotted) through 14 neighborhoods in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday as the beautiful weather brought out hundreds of thousands of spectators.
While friends and family could track the progress of participants through the race organizer’s app, many chose to hit the streets themselves and cheer on the racers as they passed.
– All photos by Sebastian Foltz with text by Brian Hyslop
Army veteran Kevin Bittenbender runs down Liberty Avenue with his service animal Kirby and Department of Veterans Affairs surgery coordinator Lyn Eckrote at the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon. Bittenbender, who previously completed the marathon with a handcycle, ran to bring awareness for the Hope for Warriors foundation and veterans managing PTSD. 
Runners in the elite group start Sunday’s marathon. 
Tianna Tompkins (left) and Brianna Sciulli raise their arms to celebrate the start of the race. 
Alyssa Erb smiles at the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday. 
Handcycle athletes in the 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Runners Cross the 16 Street Bridge during Sunday’s Marathon. 
Raymond Helwich runs down Smithfield Street in the final mile. 
A volunteer throws a water bottle to a runner at the finish of the Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Payton Goodwin runs down Smithfield Street in the final mile of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Natalie Corrado, 27, waves to her twin sister Francesca Corrado. 
Francesca Corrado, 27, cheers on her twin sister Natalie Corrado during the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. 
Pace runner Natalie Eaton (#4412) leads runners in the 3-hour and 55-minute pace as they near the finish line. 
Sara Zambotti runs down Smithfield Street during the final mile of the Pittsburgh Marathon. She finished 11th among women. 
First-time marathon runner Nick Deardorff walks across the Smithfield Street Bridge with his sons Colin, left, and Braden after finishing the marathon. 
Ben Lacey, 11, holds up a sign on the South Side. 
Runners cross the Birmingham Bridge during Sunday’s Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Nyla Dickinson, 2, hugs her mother Emily Dickinson. Nyla and her sister Aria, 5, and father Jerry, cheered for Emily at the Birmingham Bridge. 
Christen Hinderer, left, and Shelley Drahusz give a thumbs up running on the Birmingham Bridge. 
Bo Dukovich (front) and John Shumski, both 4, high five marathon runners on Carson Street 
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey shakes hands with a runner at the finish of the 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Dana Marchionda (#2584) celebrates finishing the Pittsburgh Marathon. 
Tristten Rowland, 7, (left), Sadie Aiken, 6, and Eliana Rowland, 10, cheer on runners. 
Tori and Gilbert Johnson celebrate reaching the finish line. 
Heidi Henry, Becca Culan and Jennifer Keenan cross the finish line.
There also were many organized neighborhood celebrations complete with music and other festivities to energize the runners. Each year, the South Side Chamber of Commerce holds a festival to encourage runners down East Carson Street as they prepare to cross the notorious Birmingham Bridge.
Apart from the full 26.2-mile marathon, there was a half-marathon, a half-marathon walking division and a marathon relay.
Racers took off from the starting line on Liberty Avenue near 10th Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, while the finish line was at Boulevard of the Allies between Wood and Stanwix streets.
Pittsburgh native Margo Malone won the women’s division by crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 41 minutes, 56 seconds. Tyler McCandless won the men’s race in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 8 seconds.
See the full results online.
