The North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships was a men's international team

long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running come two di ...

competition between

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n nations. It was held on two occasions, in 2003 and 2004, both of which were incorporated into the annual Akron Marathon. The

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

format differed from six-man

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competiti ...

teams common in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and instead featured teams of five runners covering 10 km legs for the first and third leg, 5 km legs for the second and fourth leg, then a final leg of 12.195 km to complete the classic 42.195 km

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

distance. The prize for first place was US$25,000. The three competing nations were

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Mexico won both competitions, with the United States placing second and Canada third in both 2003 and 2004. Salvador Miranda,

Alejandro Suárez Alejandro Suárez Velázquez (born 30 November 1980) is a Mexican former long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres. His personal best time is 13:18.13 minutes, achieved in June 2003 in Victoria. He clocked a sub four-minute mile ...

and Armando Torres were members of the winning Mexican team in both years and set the championship record of 2:05:30 hours at the first edition.2003 North American Men's Marathon Relay Championship Results
USATF. Retrieved 2019-09-10.2004 North American Men's Marathon Relay Championship Results
USATF. Retrieved 2019-09-10. It was the first ever continental marathon relay championship and came five years after the folding of the

IAAF World Road Relay Championships The IAAF World Road Relay Championships was a biennial international athletics competition in long-distance relay running. First organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1992, the championship ran for four ed ...

in 1998. The North American 5K Championships, also including a team road running format, was formed a year earlier in 2002.North American 5 Kilometres Challenge
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-09-10.

Editions

Results

References

{{defunct athletics competitions North American international sports competitions Marathons in the United States NACAC competitions Sports competitions in Akron, Ohio 2003 establishments in Ohio 2004 disestablishments in Ohio Recurring sporting events established in 2003 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2004 Athletics team events Defunct athletics competitions