The winners of the 2024 Navy Marathon have set their sights on returning to the top in the 2026 edition, after triumphing for the second consecutive year in the 36th edition.
Kenyan Stephen Ndege dominated the main event, crossing the finish line with ease as if he were taking a leisurely walk from Mérida to Progreso. The 3,000 runners who participated in the three categories, including individually and relay-style, faced intense heat that took its toll on most of them.
In the women’s category, Micaela Rayo Reyes emerged unchallenged as the winner, navigating an uneven course where the majority of participants struggled with the sweltering heat.
Ndege clocked in at 2:35.57 seconds in the submaster category, while Micaela Rayo took 2:50.41 seconds to complete her run in the master category, both times better than their previous year’s performances. The overall winners were awarded a special prize of 30,000 pesos, part of a total purse of 350,000 pesos.
The Navy Marathon returned to its original route from Mérida to Progreso, as it was when first held in 1973. The starting gun fired just steps away from the Monument to the Fatherland on Paseo de Montejo, with wheelchair athletes leading the charge followed closely by marathon participants.
As the runners made their way through the central streets of Mérida and towards Progreso along Prolongación de Montejo, Ndege took off with a commanding lead. Before crossing the ring road, his arrival at the finish line located on the Progreso boardwalk in front of the Meteorite Museum was all but assured.
Dozens of people waited for the runners, cheering loudly as they approached the finish line. The route revealed the runners’ efforts due to the heat, despite the fact that it took place at dawn.
Special moments were experienced during the final stretch, particularly when entering through the Juan Miguel Castro Monument. As the remaining meters to cross the finish line became apparent, with the runners already exhausted, the emotions ran high.
“This is the toughest marathon in Mexico,” said a veteran runner, who echoed previous years’ dubbing of it as the “marathon of hell or the devil.”
The overall winner was followed closely by Víctor Mejía Lopez and Pedro Espinosa Torres. In the 21-kilometer race, Yucatecan Abigail Cabrera Martínez crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:26.16 hours, while in the men’s race, Carlos López took 1:19.49 hours to complete his run.
In the wheelchair race, Rogelio Martínez Segura emerged as the winner with a time of 2:06 hours.
Source: Diario de Yucatan
