While much of the nation woke up to heavy snow, icy conditions and power outages Sunday morning, the 18,500 runners in the Life Time Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon sweated through oppressive humidity and temperatures in the 70s as they ran past palm trees and cruise ships through downtown and along the waterfront.
The winners of the men’s and women’s marathon, Dominic Ondoro and Christine Welsh, and half marathon winners Mauricio Gonzalez and Tracy Barlow, all mentioned the challenges of Miami’s humidity; but they were not complaining.
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They were happy to be wearing shorts and racing in the sunshine.
Men’s marathon winner Ondoro of Kenya finished in 2:17:47. He was racing in Miami for the first time and was somewhat affected by the winter storms, as his coach/manager got stuck in Dallas and was unable to travel to the race.
Ondoro, a 37-year-old father of three, landed at Miami International Airport at 1:08 a.m. Saturday after a long journey from Nairobi to Paris to Miami and was met by Dennis Rodrigues of Cooper City, a retired West Broward High School geography teacher who was called by a friend in the running community at the last minute to see if he would be willing to provide transportation and lodging for Ondoro, whom he had never met.
Marathon attendees cheer on runners on the racecourse, waving flags and signs and offering words of encouragement as large groups make their way towards the causeway during the Life Time Miami Marathon & Half on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
(Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com)
“I was in Africa last year, so I picked up Swahili, so I could talk to him a little bit,” Rodrigues said. “I loved my time in East Africa, Tanzania, found the East African people so sweet. They say ‘Hakuna Matata.’ No worries.
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“By the time I got him to my house it was 2, 2:30 a.m. He woke up at 7:30 and wanted to go for a run, so I took him to Brian Piccolo Park a mile from my house. He did a 40-minute, 7-mile run. I Googled him, because I didn’t know him that well, and realized he has won over 20 marathons.”
Rodrigues and his wife gave Ondoro chicken and rice for lunch and dinner and three bananas for a pre-race breakfast.
Ondoro twisted his ankle at Mile 20 of Sunday’s race, was limping after crossing the finish line, but said he didn’t think it was a serious injury. He was delighted to head home with a gold medal to show his wife and children, ages 10, 6 and 4.
He said he liked the Miami course, particularly seeing cruise ships up close for the first time. “But I did not see them very well because I was running, that is my job,” Ondoro said.
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Growing up on a tea and coffee farm in Kenya, Ondoro started running in school. Asked what he thinks about when he runs mile after mile, he smiled and replied: “Winning.”
Runners head eastbound on the MacArthur Causeway, against the partial skyline at the Life Time Miami Marathon & Half on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
(Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com)Running for domestic abuse victims
Bradley Makuvire, a 27-year-old assistant running coach at El Paso Community college in Texas, finished in second place for the second year in a row. The Zimbabwe native bettered his time by two minutes from last year, clocking in at 2:20:12.
“I am disappointed because I wanted to win, but also happy because [it was a good result considering] the emergency door on my flight here from Texas had a problem so we had to make a landing in Indiana, we were delayed, so I was still a little bit tired,” he said.
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“I tried to make a move towards the end of the race but the winner made a move earlier, and I just didn’t have enough to go with him.”
When he isn’t running or coaching running, Makuvire is a social worker focusing on victims of domestic abuse, particularly women and children.
“My Mom went through a lot of abuse, so that affected me a lot, and she didn’t get help,” he said. “I wanted to provide help for other people like my Mom.”
Ederson Vilela Periera of Brazil finished third behind Makuvire in 2:21:18.
Marine biologist Christina Welsh wins women’s marathon
The women’s marathon winner, 29-year-old Welsh of St. Petersburg, crossed the finish line in 2:42.14.
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Welsh is a New Jersey native and pursuing a PhD in marine biology at the University of South Florida. She ran cross country at Division III Stockton University and ran her first marathon in 2019.
She ran a personal best 2:33:08 at the 2022 Houston Marathon, which qualified her for the 2024 Olympic Trials. She went on to finish second at the 2024 Philadelphia Marathon and won the 2025 Detroit Marathon.
Christina Welsh, 29, crosses the finishing line to win the Women’s Elite Life Time Miami Marathon on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
(Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com)
“This one was the hardest to win,” she said. “There were a few more hills than I anticipated, which is my fault, I should have looked at the course ahead of time. And, obviously, it was a little bit warm. I do live in St. Petersburg, so I did a lot of afternoon training runs to get ready for it, but it was really warm. And, there was a lot of good competition this year.”
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Welsh does research on fish metabolism in different temperatures and when they are exercising. She said she relates as a runner.
“I feel a lot like a fish on a treadmill when I’m running in the Florida humidity,” she said, smiling.
Sunday was her first time running the Miami Marathon and she enjoyed the experience.
“It was a beautiful course and there were so many spectators,” she said. “There were no parts of the course that were totally dead, even at the beginning of the race. There were so many spectators excited to cheer for everyone.”
Welsh plans to compete in Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota in June. She said it is a fast course and she hopes to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
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Ellie Stevens of Las Vegas finished second in the women’s marathon in 2:45:43 and Hanna Hauschild of Miami Beach was third in 2:52:27.
Half-marathon winner Gonzalez felt Colombian pride
The men’s half marathon was won by 37-year-old Mauricio Gonzalez of Bogota, Colombia. He has been running for 22 years, and this was his first Miami Marathon. He finished in 1:06:17.
“I came here two years ago to help train some other runners and once I saw the course, it was my dream to come back and compete here and to win it made the dream complete,” he said. “It is a spectacular route. Enjoying the beautiful scenery helps make the time go by faster.”
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Gonzalez’s wife was also in the race and his 16-year-old son gave him a Colombian flag to wrap around his shoulders toward the finish.
Colombian Mauricio Gonzalez finishes first in the Men’s Elite Life Time Miami Half Marathon on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
(Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com)
“Like every Colombian child, I dreamed of being a soccer player when I was little, but once I started running I didn’t want to do any other sport,” he said. “Seeing so many Colombian supporters along the race helped carry me and I was proud to be representing the 2,500 Colombian runners who were in the Miami Marathon.”
Paxton Smith of Miami, the 27-year-old former English teacher who now is a coach for “My Olympic Coach” organization, was the half-marathon runner up with a time of 1:08:27.
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Third time was charm for Tracy Barlow in half-marathon
Tracy Barlow, a 40-year-old critical care nurse from London, had back-to-back third place finishes in the 2024 and 2025 Miami Half-Marathon, and finally reached the top of the podium on Sunday.
Lucy Dobbs of Indianapolis was runner-up in 1:19:32.
“The third time was the charm,” Barlow said, wearing a huge smile. “It was really humid and it was really windy the first four miles, especially crossing the bridge, so that was tough going. You have to try to pace yourself and make sure you don’t work too hard. Having done it a few times before, I knew how the heat can get you. But I don’t mind feeling hot and sweaty.”
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Although Barlow grew up in the United Kingdom, she said she has never been a fan of cold weather and loves the weather in Florida. Her sister lives in Bradenton, and Barlow enjoys running in warm conditions whenever she visits.
Tracy Barlow of England lifts her arms as she crosses the finishing line to win the Women’s Elite Life Time Miami Half Marathon on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
(Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com)
Barlow dabbled in gymnastics and soccer in elementary school and picked up running during college to shed weight. She fell in love with the sport, did her first half-marathon at age 23, has run the London Marathon numerous times and represented Great Britain in the marathon at the 2017 World Championships.
“It’s the only sport where the whole city comes out and supports you,” she said.
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Barlow wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and gets in an hour’s run and then works a 12-hour shift at St. Thomas Hospital.
She finds running therapeutic.
“It makes you grateful for what you can do because you’re working with people who are really helpless and dependent on you and the fact that I can then go out for a run and clear my mind helps.”