The Amway River Bank Run is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

race hosted by

Amway Amway (short for "American Way") is an American multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada, Michigan. Amway and it ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

city of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, in the month of May. The

25K run The 25K run (25 kilometers, approximately 15.52 miles) is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics,

was created and first held in 1978 by Old Kent Bank as the Old Kent River Bank Run and continued under that name until 2000, when its name was changed to the Fifth Third River Bank Run. The name of the race changed again in late 2018 when Amyway agreed to take over primary sponsorship of the race from Fifth Third Bank. Today, the race draws over 22,000 participants from around the world. It features the largest 25K road race in the country, and is the site for the USA 25 km Open and Masters Championships. The event also features the only 25K Wheelchair Racing division in the world.

Events

25K Run

The USA 25 km Open and Masters Championships is open to U.S. citizens 14 years of age or older as of race day. The course is a

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

certified loop course which starts in downtown Grand Rapids and leaves the city going south, taking the runners through parks and along the Grand River before finishing back downtown.

Race within the race

2015 saw the introduction of the "race within the race" for the 25K. The Elite and USATF women are given an 11 minute, 30 second head start over the men. The first person to cross the finish line wins an additional prize.

25K Wheel/handcycle

The Wheel/Handcycle Division follows the same course as the 25K run. Eligible participants have a physical disability which prohibits them from running the event. Race organizers state, "The race is for competitive cyclist only, this division is not designed for leisure racing."

10k Run

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The course is a

certified loop course which heads southwest from downtown Grand Rapids to John Ball Park and returns downtown to finish.

5K Run

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The course is a

certified loop course which takes the participants through downtown Grand Rapids.

5K Walk

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The participants follow the same course as the 5K run; they are not timed and awards are not given out.

Junior

Fifth Third Junior event takes place the Wednesday before the main event at Rogers High School in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. More than 1,700 kids between the ages of 5-13 participate in the 1/2 mile and 1 mile fun runs and 5K Run.

Classes and divisions

Clydesdale Division

Participants in the 25K, 10K, and 5K runs may choose to register in the Clydesdale Division, which divides them into either Class A or Class B by weight. Trophies for each race awarded to the top performers in each weight class in each division. Medals are awarded to the top three performers in each weight class in each division.

Age divisions

Participants in each race are divided into male and female divisions based on age: 13 and under (not available in 25K), 14-19, 20-24, 25-29,30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80+. The number of awards is three deep in each age division though some 25K divisions may issue fewer due to a reduced number of participants.

Sponsorship

The primary sponsor for the event is

, who announced the change in sponsorship on October 10, 2018. The race was originally sponsored by Old Kent Bank and was held under the title "The Old Kent River Bank Run" until 2000 when Old Kent Bank was acquired by

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third B ...

. At that time, the name of the race changed but sponsorship was uninterrupted. A local rehabilitation center,

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital is a 167-bed acute care inpatient rehabilitation hospital for children and adults who have experienced a brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, amputation, or other injury or illness requiring physical r ...

provides sponsorship for the Wheelchair and Handchair Divisions. Other sponsors include Metro Health Hospital,

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, Gazelle Sports,

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ; stylized as meijer) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwest. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 as ...

, and others.

Past 25K winners

Key:

References

{{reflist, 1 ;List of winners *Post, Marty (2011-05-18)
River Bank 25 km

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2019-12-31.

External links

Official website
Road running competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1978 Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan Track and field in Michigan 1978 establishments in Michigan 25K runs