Joann Karpowicz
I paced a slower runner last year. Course was great ! Support staff was on point!
Saturday May 9th, 2026
Grand Rapids, MI
Distance: 25k
Offical Race Web Site
The Amway River Bank Run presented by Fifth Third Bank with Spectrum Health the Official Health Partner celebrates over 43 years.
More than 16,000 people are expected to compete in the event which features the largest 25K road race in the country and offers the only 25K Wheelchair racing division in the world along with a 25K Handcycle division. The USA 25 km Open Championships will run concurrently with the 25K event. In addition to the 25K, participants can choose from the 25K Relay, 10K Run, 5K Run, Team Competition, 5K Community Walk and Amway Junior Wednesday, May 6.
Consistently ranked as one of the premier road racing events in the United States, the Amway River Bank Run is the site of the Men’s 25K American and Course record (1:13:47; 2019); Women’s 25K American record (1:24:36; 2012) and former Men’s 25K World record (1998). The 25K has been the site of the USA 25 km Open Championships since 1995.
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Prize Money: $116,400
Race City Location Map - zoom in · zoom out · big map
displays approximate race location · Grand Rapids MI 49503
My Best Runs Comments
Gary Kowalczyk
I love the River bank run 25k in Grand Rapids Michigan. I have done just about every year missed 3 out of 40 some. It is very very cool to see how the race gets better and better every year.
I love the River bank run 25k in Grand Rapids Michigan. I have done just about every year missed 3 out of 40 some. It is very very cool to see how the race gets better and better every year.
Amway River Bank Run, Race Date: 2025-05-10, Distance: 25k
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| Male | 1:12:15 | Casey Clinger | ||
| 2nd Male | 1:12:29 | Joe Klecker | ||
| 3rd Male | 1:12:51 | Hillary Bor | ||
| 4th Male | 1:14:45 | Zouhair Talbi | ||
| Female | 1:22:24 | Carrie Ellwood | ||
| 2nd Female | 1:23:50 | Megan Hasz | ||
| 3rd Female | 1:24:23 | Kasandra Parker | ||
| 4th Female | 1:25:18 | Atsede Tesema |
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| M 40-49 | 1:25:52 | Dickson Mercer | ||
| M 50-59 | 1:36:14 | Rob Hyde | ||
| M 60-69 | 1:39:48 | Henry Hofman | ||
| M 70+ | 2:08:46 | Larry Ver Merris | ||
| F 40-49 | 1:39:21 | Melissa Kessler | ||
| F 50-59 | 2:03:27 | Janet Becker | ||
| F 60-69 | 1:43:44 | Lisa Veneziano | ||
| F 70+ | 2:41:37 | JoAnne Furu |
The largest 25K in the country, the USATF certified loop course starts in downtown Grand Rapids on Monroe Avenue at Lyon Street and heads south, leaving the city to weave through parks and along the Grand River before finishing back downtown.
When Frank Cashman from the Grand Rapids Track Club approached Marty Allen, then Marketing Director for Old Kent Bank, in the mid 1970s about initiating a local road race, Allen was intrigued.
Cashman worked out what he felt was the perfect distance, a 25K that started and finished in downtown Grand Rapids and Allen pledged the funding. In 1978, just over 1,000 runners took to the streets on the second Saturday of May for the first annual Old Kent River Bank Run.
In 2001, Old Kent Bank merged with Fifth Third Bank, and the event was renamed to showcase its new owner. With the transition of race ownership in 2018 to Riverbank Events and Media , a group of leading community partners came together including Amway, Fifth Third Bank and Spectrum Health to insure the race will continue for many years to follow on the second Saturday in May in downtown Grand Rapids.
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"This is the largest and best 25k (15.5 miles) race in the country. They offer over $100,000 in prize money too!," says Bob Anderson