Pennsylvanians Florio and Loevner Win the 67th Philadelphia Marathon

Philadelphia, PA, November 24—I covered the Philadelphia Marathon on foot, while David Block was on the men’s press truck and interviewed both champions for Runner’s Gazette. I saw the start, the 9-mile point at the Philadelphia Zoo, the 20K mark on the Girard Street Bridge and the finish line.

The women’s elite race was down to three at the Zoo. Aberu Mekuria Zennebe, a 40-year-old Ethiopian, was leading. Katie Florio of Philadelphia and Elizabeth Chikotas of Harrisonburg, VA were running together several seconds back. On the Girard Street Bridge the trio was together again. Florio had the hometown advantage; she told the Philadelphia Inquirer: “I run these streets twice a day.” Florio was delighted with her win and new personal best of 2:32:44. Aberu Mekuria Zennebe was second in 2:33:28. Elizabeth Chikotas, the former Penn State runner, was third in 2:35:30.

In a different way of staging the elites, declared elites started just after 7 AM. The open, or first wave, started nearly 5 minutes later. There was reduced prize money for the top finishers in the open. As it worked out, one man and three women earned places in the combined top ten. If it sounds confusing, it was. In theory the winner could break the tape, and someone in the later start could run faster. That didn’t happen, but both fourth place finishers started in the open wave.

Anne Johnston of St. John’s, Newfoundland was fourth in 2:42:51; she was the first of the later starters and second master. Stephanie Diacovo of New York, NY was fifth in 2:44:08.

William Loevner of Pittsburgh was the winner in an exciting come-from-behind win in 2:16:13. Feyissa Mulgeta of Ethiopia was second in 2:16:44. Rahal Bouchfar of Morocco was third in 2:16:57. Ben Fleischer of Scotch Plains, NJ was fourth in 2:20:57; he also started later. Jordan Daniel of Westhampton, NY was fifth in 2:21:28.

Michelle Wheeler of Argyle, TX was the women’s wheelchair champ in 2:03:43. Jeyna Senbeta was the men’s champion in 1:47:55.

67 editions of the Philadelphia Marathon are in the books. 12,381 finished the marathon. The Saturday races had 11,475 finish the half-marathon and 3,621 in the 8K. Winners of the half-marathon were Ahmed Muhumed of Flagstaff, AZ in 1:03:15 and Sarah Naibei of Kenya in 1:10:46. The 8K champs were Florencia Borelli of Argentina in 26:02 and Pat Tierman of Australia in 23:21.

Loevner and Florio Win 2024 Philadelphia Marathon
By David Block (observing from the press truck and interviewing the men’s and women’s winners)

For the first 19 miles of the Philadelphia Marathon, no one on the pace vehicle even tried to guess which runners would break away. When the race began, ten male elite runners were up front. As the marathon progressed, the number of elites leading the pack decreased. The number dropped to eight, six, five, and then before the 19-mile mark, only four were left.

After the lead foursome hit the 19-mile mark in Manayunk with a 1:38:37 clocking, Feyissa Mulgeta of Ethiopia broke away. For the next 6 miles, nobody challenged him. He was running by himself without anyone gaining on him.

At the 22-mile mark on Kelly Drive, Feyissa posted 1:53:42. He was alone. At 23 miles, his time was 1:58:54. His 24-mile split was 2:04:25. He hit the 25-mile mark in 2:09:50.

It seemed as though it was going to be Feyissa’s day to take home the $10,000 first place cash prize, but William Loevner of Pittsburgh had other ideas. He caught up to Feyissa and eventually passed him. Feyissa failed to catch him.

Loevner won, posting a 2:16:12 clocking, and was now $10,000 richer. Feyissa had to settle for the second-place consolation cash prize of $7,500.

“I wasn’t worried about winning or losing,” said Loevner. “I just ran my own race. I was just going to run to the best of my ability and be happy with whatever place I got. I was 4^th last year (2:16:51). This year I wanted to do better.” Loevner shaved 39 seconds off of last year’s finishing time.

Not only the spectators and pace truck’s passengers surprised to see Loevner win. “I was shocked I caught up to him,” said Loevner. “I’m still in shock.”

Asked how he planned to spend the $10,000, Loevner answered that he and his wife were going to spend a lot of it on their first baby, due January 7. Loevner knows that he will eventually buy his baby some running shoes.

In the women’s field, Katie Florio won the 2024 Philadelphia Marathon with a new personal best of 2:32:42. Her previous PR was 2:35:07 which she ran at the 2022 California International Marathon.

“I wasn’t expecting to do that well today (at this year’s Philly Marathon) because I had a baby last fall,” said Florio. “I didn’t know how fast I could run.” Another reason for Florio’s guarded optimism was that she finished third at the 2019 Philadelphia Marathon with a considerably slower finishing time of 2:40:47.

She remembered a problem that she had to contend with when she ran this marathon in 2019. From the five to seven-mile mark on Chestnut Street, huge crowds cheered for her and the other marathoners for nearly that whole stretch. The cheers compelled her to run at a faster pace than she intended. Unfortunately for Rodden (her then maiden name), the cheers made her pay less attention to the fact that during that two-mile stretch, she was steadily running up hill. By mile seven, after turning onto 34th Street, the hill suddenly became incredibly steep. Moreover, the streets were no longer lined with cheering spectators. Despite that inconvenience, Florio was still happy with her performance that day. She told this Mainlinemedianews.com writer that she would be more careful the next time she ran the Philadelphia Marathon.

Midway through the race this past Sunday, Florio and second place woman finisher Aberu Mekuria Zennebe of Ethiopia, 2:33:26, kept battling for the lead. They kept taking the lead from each other up until they hit the 22-mile mark on Kelly Drive.

“I knew that I had to get away from her before the end, because she has a strong finishing kick,” said Florio.

After passing Zennebe at 22 miles, Florio did not look back, not even one time, to see if Zennebe were gaining on her. Had she looked back, she wouldn’t have seen Zennebe. Florio beat Zennebe by 44 seconds.

After Florio crossed the finish line, she had to sit down for several minutes; she was utterly exhausted. After recovering, she happily spoke with the media.

Florio received a total of $11,000 after winning the marathon, $10,000 for finishing first and the additional $1,000.00 was for being the first female Philadelphia resident to finish.

Zennebe had to settle for the second-place consolation prize of $7,500.

Florio said that the money will go toward a huge family vacation.

Top Women

2:32:44 Katie Florio, 31, Philadelphia
2:33:28 Aberu Mekuria Zennebe, 40, Ethiopia
2:35:30 Elizabeth Chikotas, 28, Harrisonburg, VA
2:42:51 Anne Johnston, 44, St. John’s, NFLD, Canada
2:44:08 Stephanie Diacovo, 31, New York, NY
2:44:46 Melanie Vlasic, 28, Hatfield, PA
2:45:14 Christine Mancini, 23, Media, PA
2:45:45 Lindsey Oremus, 27, Eagleville, PA
2:45:48 Amber Zimmerman, 32, Philadelphia
2:47:14 Lauren Kelly, 34, Philadelphia
2:47:58 Kristen Travers, 26, Jersey City, NJ
2:48:48 Maggie Drazba, 29, Denver, CO
2:49:25 Elise Ramirez, 27, New York, NY
2:49:33 Jenna Wolfrum, 25, Milwaukee, WI
2:50:30 Samantha Snukis, 38, Lititz, PA

Top Men

2:16:13 William Loevner, 27, Pittsburgh, PA
2:16:41 Feyissa Mulgeta, 28, Ethiopia
2:16:57 Rahal Bouchfar, 24, Morocco
2:20:57 Ben Fleischer, 24, Scotch Plains, NJ
2:21:28 Jordan Daniel, 29, Westhampton, NY
2:21:32 Milan Duka, 31, Stamford, CT (Serbia)
2:22:59 David Troy, 24, Philadelphia, PA (Ireland)
2:23:28 Guta Abiyote, 39, Ethiopia
2:23:37 Stephen Paddock, 30, Raleigh, NC
2:24:00 Steve Jordan, 32, West Chester, PA
2:24:13 Evan Addison, 24, Arlington, VA
2:25:08 Joshua Estrada, 33, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2:25:14 Phil Parrot-Migas, 31, London, ON, Canada
2:25:31 Phil Harris, 29, Concord, MA
2:25:42 William Rehrig, 31, Middletown, DE

Katie Florio of Philadelphia wins her hometown marathon in a personal best of 2:32:44.

Michelle Wheeler of Argyle, TX wins the 2024 Philadelphia Marathon in 2:03:43.

William Loevner of Pittsburgh wins the 2024 Philadelphia Marathon in 2:16:13.

Philadelphia Marathon 2024 elite fields head toward City Hall.

Katie Florio of Philadelphia and Elizabeth Chikotas of Harrisonburg, VA get cheers as they run together in second place chasing the lone leader as the pass the Philadelphia Zoo.

Press truck with Barb McKeever, Jess Leak, and David Block. Dress warm folks.

Jordan Daniel of Westhampton, NY was fifth in 2:21:28.

Milan Duka of Stamford, CT and Serbia was sixth in 2:21:32.

Evan Addison of Arlington, VA was 11th in 2:24:13. Check out Amtrak train going by the bridge.

Dan Forry of Columbia, PA runs with David Troy of Philadelphia and Ireland as they cross the 20km on the Girard Street Bridge. Troy was seventh in 2:22:59.

Joshua Estrada of Fort Lauderdale, FL was 12th in 2:25:08.

Anne Johnston of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada was fourth in 2:42:51. She was second master.

Amber Zimmerman of Philadelphia ran the half marathon in 1:12:54 on Saturday. She ran 2:45:48 on Sunday in the marathon, placing ninth. Amber was fourth on Saturday.

Samantha Snukis of Lititz, PA was 15th in 2:50:30.

Owen Strickler of York, PA, a Central High grad, runs his first marathon in 3:08:20.

Steve Jordan of West Chester, PA was tenth in 2:24:00.

Ben Fleischer of Scotch Plains, NJ was fourth in 2:20:57.

Campbell Ross of Washington, DC was 19th in 2:27:51.

Aberu Mekuria Zennebe of Ethiopia was second overall and top master in 2:33:28.

Race director Kathleen Titus and husband Paul Florio greet race winner Katie Florio after her 2:32:44 victory.

Elizabeth Chikotas of Harrisburg, VA was third in 2:35:30. She is a former Penn State runner.

Stephanie Diacovo of New York, NY was fifth in 2:44:08.

Melanie Vlasic of Hatfield, PA was sixth in 2:44:46.

Lindsey Oremus of Eagleville, PA was eighth in 2:45:45 in her marathon debut.

Christine Mancini of Media, PA finishes her debut marathon in 2:45:14 to place seventh.

Amber Zimmerman of Philadelphia was top ten in both the half-marathon and marathon this weekend. Looking fresh after 39.3 miles of weekend racing, Amber was ninth in 2:45:48.