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Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon 2025 crowns champions on perfect day in the Sun City
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- Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon 2025 crowns champions on perfect day in the Sun City
El Paso made quite a first impression on Derek Weber, even if his perspective of Downtown is mixed with some pain.
The 31-year-old from Santa Fe claimed his biggest-ever career win when he pulled away in the second half of the Michelob Ultra Marathon on Sunday , crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 55 seconds to win the race by more than 3 minutes.
Derek Weber, a 31-year-old from Santa Fe, won the Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon on Sunday at San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso.
More: El Paso Marathon and Half Marathon results
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This marked the first weekend Weber ever spent in El Paso and he capped it with a 26.2 mile jaunt across the city, from the Eastside Athletic Complex to San Jacinto Plaza on a perfect weather day for running. Weber was accompanied for the final part of the race by a police escort.
Derek Weber is the first man to cross the finish line in the Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon on Feb. 23, 2025.
"The first 35K (about 22 miles) was great, the last 5K was a struggle," Weber said of his race. "I hung in there, I'm happy. I really like this town, it's a really cool town. I've never won such a big race before. The last 5K was a struggle but I got it done."
More: Here's a list of past winners of the El Paso Marathon.
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The women's winner Nina Lane, a 32-year-old native of Germany who now lives in El Paso, had a similar story.
"It started out pretty good, but the last 5K was super hard," Lane said before an explanation only a runner could relate to. "I was so thirsty, I got a stomach ache, I couldn't eat, but I like running in El Paso so I really enjoyed it."
Nina Lane is the first woman to cross the finish line at the Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon on Feb. 23, 2025.
Lane didn't expect to win — "I didn't know who would show up, you never know," she said — but she took the lead near the first mile mark and eventually won by 12 minutes with a time of 3:07:42.
After the race she found her friend JT Evans, the second place finisher in the men's race (2:50:18), and they compared notes of their days.
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More: El Paso teacher finds joy in running, aims to finish El Paso half marathon
The other big winner was the race itself, which featured a record number of runners (560 in the marathon, 1,995 in the Raiz Federal Credit Union Half Marathon and 2,129 finishers in the Spine & Rehab Specialists 5K Run/Walk) and a new finish line in front of San Jacinto Plaza, which hosted a festive post-race party.
Perhaps the happiest person there was fourth place male finisher Dorian Miranda, who came in with a goal of running the magic marathon number of 3 hours (also the number to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon). He sprinted across the line at 2:59:50, with 10 seconds to spare, then began crying in celebration.
Dorian Miranda bursts into tears after finishing the Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon as his time qualified him for the Boston Marathon on Feb. 23, 2025.
"My goal was to break 3, sub 3 in El Paso and I did it. I did it!" Miranda shouted.
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In a marathon or half marathon, all finishers can count themselves as winners.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
Jaime Andrade runs the Raiz Federal Credit Union Half Marathon through North Kansas Street on Feb. 23, 2025, near Downtown El Paso, Texas.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon 2025 crowns champions on perfect day
