Will Loevner wins the 2026 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. (Photo courtesy of P3R)
(Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle) – In a move cementing Will Loevner’s place within Pittsburgh Marathon lore, the goat farming, agriculturally-minded, Jewish runner, outkicked Olympian Jared Ward. With 350 meters to go in a 26.2 mile race, Loevner rattled off 200 meters in about 29 seconds.
That sprint, Ward told his 26,300 Instagram followers, “really marked the end of the racing.”
Throughout the morning of May 3, Loevner, Ward and Milton Rotich seemed equally capable of victory. Over those final steps, however, with 5,023 marathoners behind him, Loevner, 28, charged down Smithfield Street.
For nearly two hours beforehand, Loevner traversed five bridges and 14 neighborhoods. The route took the Winchester Thurston graduate past his old school and training grounds, along roads filled with friends and family cheering his every step. Propelled by carbon-fiber plated footwear, Loevner methodically moved toward the finish and his wife, Emma, and infant son, Finn. He turned onto the Boulevard of the Allies. Ward, the 2015 U.S. Marathon champion, was seconds behind.
“Let’s hear it for him Pittsburgh!” blasted from a speaker.
As Loevner neared the end, he raised his arms, passed under an official clock and broke the DICK’S emblazoned tape. His blistering pace of 5 minutes and 9 seconds per mile — totaling 2:14:52 — ceased. Visibly emotional, Loevner stopped his watch, and while draped in an American flag, the self-described “Pittsburgh dad” embraced Emma and Finn. Loevner turned back toward Ward, who was standing, arms raised, clapping for the champion.
