- The 2023 Fox Cities Marathon course weaves through seven communities: Menasha, Appleton, Darboy, Combined Locks, Kimberly, Fox Crossing and Neenah
- Race organizers say they expect around 3,800 runners total across the weekend
- Video shows runners enjoying interactive booths at the race expo and kids competing in races at Fox Cities Stadium
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Right now — runners of all paces get ready to weave through seven communities along the Fox River, in this weekend's Fox Cities Marathon!
Your neighborhood reporter Karl Winter has a closer look at the excitement building at the race expo — and at Fox Cities Stadium where all the action will begin.
Nerves and excitement abound here at the race expo, as runners pick up their bibs and some free swag in anticipation of the Fox Cities Marathon. Race organizers tell me they expect nearly 4,000 people to take to the streets of the Fox Cities — some of them covering distances like 10K, halfmarathon or marathon for the very first time.
Courtney Metzner is proud to attempt something she's never done before — run 13.1 miles.
"It's my first time, I'm super pumped, I have no idea what to expect," Metzner said.
For Ross McDowell, who will run the 10K course for the first time, the fairly flat course bodes well for both first-timers and returners.
"It's such a great beginning course for a lot of different people and different distances that you're looking to do," McDowell said.
Runners like Metzner and McDowell could sample products and make signs to display on the race course at the health and wellness race expo. Kimberly Stoeger organized the expo and says the community-oriented race helped her return to running after the trauma of experiencing the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
"It was the stepping stone for healing once I got back," Stoeger said. "So the Fox Cities Marathon is so incredibly important to me."
Over at Fox Cities Stadium, the race weekend kicked off with the youngest runners going as fast as they could. Race director Julie Johnson says the kids events at the stadium sold out, and the overall race turnout is back to pre-pandemic levels.
"We're actually exceeding numbers from 2019, which is unbelievable," Johnson said.
Those thousands of runners will weave through the Fox Cities Sunday, from UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities to Riverside Park.
Not all the kids grasped the concept of running the bases, but a good time was had by the hundreds here at Fox Cities Stadium. People can still sign up for the marathon at the race expo through 3:30 on Saturday afternoon.
