Buffalo woman wins Niagara Falls Half-Marathon outright

On Sunday, Oct. 23, the Niagara Falls International Marathon returned for the first time in three years. The race weekend saw two female runners conquer the podium, as Hannah Reinhardt of Buffalo, N.Y., won the half-marathon in her debut, and Sawyer Nicholson of Stouffville, Ont., won the 5K, breaking the 19-minute barrier in only her third 5K race.

Reinhardt, 24, ran a solo effort to cross the line in 1:15:03 for first overall, two minutes before the first male. Reinhardt was a walk-on at the University of Albany XC team in 2017, and four years later, she joined one of the most prestigious track and field programs in the country at the University of Oregon.

Reinhardt lives and trains in Buffalo, where she works as a cultural co-ordinator for a non-profit organization. She has plans to keep dreaming big, and has aspirations of one day qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

“This was my first real test at dipping my toes back into competitive racing,” says Reinhardt. She had surgery on her foot earlier this year after breaking her navicular bone last November. “My love for the sport is undeniable, and I hope to stay healthy and find a coach.”

Belen Resendiz of Acuña, Mexico was the second woman to cross the finish line in 1:21:37 for fifth overall, while Jessie MacDonald of St. Catharines, Ont., was third in 1:32:33.

Nicholson, the 10-year-old running sensation from Stouffville, Ont., won the 5K in a personal best time of 18:55, her first time breaking the 19-minute barrier. Nicholson first made headlines earlier this summer when she won the 5K at Toronto’s Oasis Zoo Run in September.

Around 2,500 runners participated in Niagara Falls International race weekend, which has not been held since before the pandemic. The international part of the course was altered to stay in Canada this year, due to prior border restrictions. The race started and finished at the historic Toronto Power Generating Station on the Niagara Parkway, adjacent to Niagara’s Horseshoe Falls.

Check out here for full results from the 2022 Niagara Falls race weekend.