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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – It has been more than two years since the last in-person Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

On Sunday, thousands of runners headed to downtown Oklahoma City to take part in the iconic event.

Although we are back in-person this year, organizers say they still needed to make a few changes in order to protect participants in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Organizers planned a staggered start for the 12,000 runners to help them maintain space between one another.

Jose Pablo Salazar Ezquerra won the men’s marathon after coming from behind race front-runner Koki Ozawa.

There was excitement in the women’s marathon too!

Layne Hammer came from the third spot to quickly overtake Catherine Lisle and Ewa Zaborowska in the lead for the women’s race.

Hammer graduated from Oklahoma Christian University and has even set several running records at the university.

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