The Amway River Bank Run is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

race hosted by

Amway Amway Corp. (short for "American Way") is an American multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada Township, Michi ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

city of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in the month of May. The

25K run The 25K run (25 kilometers, approximately 15.52 miles) is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics,

was created and first held in 1978 by Old Kent Bank as the Old Kent River Bank Run and continued under that name until 2000, when its name was changed to the Fifth Third River Bank Run. The name of the race changed again in late 2018 when Amway agreed to take over primary sponsorship of the race from Fifth Third Bank. Today, the race draws over 22,000 participants from around the world. It features the largest 25K road race in the country, and is the site for the USA 25 km Open and Masters Championships. The event also features the only 25K Wheelchair Racing division in the world.

Events

25K Run

The USA 25 km Open and Masters Championships is open to U.S. citizens 14 years of age or older as of race day. The course is a

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

certified loop course which starts in downtown Grand Rapids and leaves the city going south, taking the runners through parks and along the Grand River before finishing back downtown.

Race within the race

2015 saw the introduction of the "race within the race" for the 25K. The Elite and USATF women are given an 11 minute, 30 second head start over the men. The first person to cross the finish line wins an additional prize.

25K Wheel/handcycle

The Wheel/Handcycle Division follows the same course as the 25K run. Eligible participants have a physical disability which prohibits them from running the event. Race organizers state, "The race is for competitive cyclist only, this division is not designed for leisure racing."

10k Run

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The course is a

certified loop course which heads southwest from downtown Grand Rapids to

John Ball Park John Ball Zoo is located on the west side of the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The John Ball Zoo is situated on the ravines and bluffs along the west edge of the property. The zoo houses more than 2,000 individual animals repres ...

and returns downtown to finish.

5K Run

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The course is a

certified loop course which takes the participants through downtown Grand Rapids.

5K Walk

This race is open to participants of any age who feel they can safely finish the race. The participants follow the same course as the 5K run; they are not timed and awards are not given out.

Junior

Fifth Third Junior event takes place the Wednesday before the main event at

East Kentwood High School East Kentwood High School (EKHS) is a public high school located just outside the city of Kentwood, Michigan, United States. It is part of the Kentwood Public Schools district, working together with the Crossroads High School, an alternative ...

in Kentwood,

. More than 1,700 kids between the ages of 5-13 participate in the 1/2 mile and 1 mile fun runs and 5K Run.

Classes and divisions

Clydesdale Division

Participants in the 25K, 10K, and 5K runs may choose to register in the Clydesdale Division, which divides them into either Class A or Class B by weight. Trophies for each race awarded to the top performers in each weight class in each division. Medals are awarded to the top three performers in each weight class in each division.

Age divisions

Participants in each race are divided into male and female divisions based on age: 13 and under (not available in 25K), 14-19, 20-24, 25-29,30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80+. The number of awards is three deep in each age division though some 25K divisions may issue fewer due to a reduced number of participants.

Sponsorship

The primary sponsor for the event is

, who announced the change in sponsorship on October 10, 2018. The race was originally sponsored by Old Kent Bank and was held under the title "The Old Kent River Bank Run" until 2000 when Old Kent Bank was acquired by

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

. At that time, the name of the race changed but sponsorship was uninterrupted. A local rehabilitation center, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital provides sponsorship for the Wheelchair and Handchair Divisions. Other sponsors include Metro Health Hospital,

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

, Gazelle Sports,

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering ...

, and others.

Past 25K winners

Key:

References

{{reflist, 1 ;List of winners *Post, Marty (2011-05-18)
River Bank 25 km

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2019-12-31.

External links

Official website
Road running competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1978 Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan Track and field in Michigan 1978 establishments in Michigan 25K runs