Michael Wardian wins the first ever full marathon held inside a NFL stadium

On Friday evening, 17 runners participated in the first full and half marathon around the home turf of the New England Patriots.  It will also be the first marathon of its kind hosted inside an NFL stadium. Participants in the half marathon will run just over 59 laps on the warning track surrounding the turf, while the full marathon participants ran 118 laps. The course is USA Track & Field (USATF) certified and the only Boston Marathon qualifier run entirely in an NFL stadium. Runners enjoied special appearances by Patriots cheerleaders and the end zone militia, in-stadium music, motivational videos on the HD video boards and other entertainment throughout the evening. Spectators will be able to cheer on runners from the Optum Field Lounge, an indoor and outdoor hospitality space located on field level in the south end zone.   “We are thrilled to be hosting our first marathon inside Gillette Stadium,” said Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation. “This is a really unique opportunity for participants to run a USATF-certified course that covers 26.2 miles entirely inside the home of the Patriots and the Revolution. This event will help us raise critical funds for the New England Patriots Foundation to benefit homeless shelter programs throughout the region.”   The race was directed by Dave McGillivray who also is the Boston Marathon race director.  44-year-old Michael Wardian placed first clocking 2:49:26.  Michael had also won the marathon held inside Fenway Park a few months ago.  He is also participating in the second Run The World Global Run Challenge and these miles bring his total to 384 miles run and logged since August 29.  He is currently in 7th place.  The team is running and logging enough miles to circle the globe (24,901 miles).     

posted Friday September 28th