{"id":703,"date":"2014-05-02T04:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-02T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=703"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:02:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:02:53","slug":"first-pittsburgh-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/05\/02\/first-pittsburgh-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"The first Pittsburgh Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rooftop <\/a>
Rooftop cheering on Walnut Street in Shadyside. (Bill Wade\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Women <\/a>
Women leaders were in a pack as they passed the 21-mile mark in Shadyside. (Bill Wade\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The J&L steel mill served as a backdrop on East Carson Street. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ralph <\/a>
Ralph Montgomery of West View was arrested for entering the race on roller skates. (Photo by Greg Ellis) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ken <\/a>
Ken Martin, who was the first male to cross the finish line. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ken <\/a>
Ken Martin gives his wife, Lisa, a kiss on the head after the race. They were the first husband and wife to win their respective categories at a marathon. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

About 1,500 men and 221 women competed in the first Pittsburgh marathon, held on May 5, 1985. Nearly 300,000 spectators cheered as competitors ran over the city\u2019s hills, bridges and abandoned street car tracks into Point State Park.<\/p>\n

It was a profitable day for Lisa and Ken Martin, the first husband and wife to be marathon winners. The couple, who had trained in the hot sun of Mesa, Ariz., left Pittsburgh $55,000 richer.<\/p>\n

Lisa Martin, a 24-year-old native of Australia, had become one of the world\u2019s best marathon runners while training for the Olympics as a student at the University of Oregon.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Ken Martin, was a collegiate track coach. The couple praised the city, the race organizers and the people of Pittsburgh for cheering on the runners.<\/p>\n

The city was in a celebratory mood. Bands played, people hosted parties and there was a break dancing competition in Homewood. On race day, weather conditions were 63 degrees with partly cloudy skies. By the time the last runner finished, the temperature had risen to 74 degrees.<\/p>\n

Ken Turpin, 44, of Penn Hills, was the first person to cross the finish line in a wheelchair. Spectators greeted him with thunderous applause.<\/p>\n

One local competitor placed fourth. Only three of the elite runners finished ahead of Don Freedline, then a 29-year-old graduate student in exercise physiology at the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

A native of Apollo, Pa., Freedline was living in Squirrel Hill when he trained for the 26-mile, 385-yard course.\u00a0 He placed fourth with a personal record of 2:17:17 and won $7,000. He received an additional $2,000 for being the second United States male finisher. The Pittsburgh Marathon served as The Athletics Congress men\u2019s national marathon championship, adding $6,000 to the race\u2019s purse.<\/p>\n

A man on roller skates did not finish the race. Ralph Montgomery, 38, of West View, started the race between wheelchair competitors and runners. He was arrested after weaving back and forth in front of runners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a profitable day for Lisa and Ken Martin, the first husband and wife to be marathon winners.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe first Pittsburgh Marathon<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[975,1211,980,1025,1033,1193,1043],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tumblr_n4whnu9ZJH1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C1067&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1912,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/03\/boogie-down-with-a-dance-marathon\/","url_meta":{"origin":703,"position":0},"title":"Boogie down with a dance marathon","date":"April 3, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Dance marathons take a physical toll on participants, as shown in the classic 1969 movie, \u201cThey Shoot Horses, Don\u2019t They?\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_mkndsikTfi1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C783&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9358,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/01\/21\/mlk-martin-luther-king-jr-legacy-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":703,"position":1},"title":"Remembering MLK’s impact in Pittsburgh","date":"January 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Trying to research the Rev. 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