Grace Nolan planned to return to the Detroit marathon on Oct. 18 as an elite athlete, a year after finishing fourth in her first marathon.
She died before she got the chance to do so.
"The Detroit Free Press Marathon family is heartbroken by the passing of Grace Nolan, who was to lead our women's elite field this past weekend," the Detroit Free Press Marathon presented by MSU Federal Credit Union said in a statement on social media. "Grace was a remarkable young woman."
Nolan was a second-year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, the statement said, where she was working toward her third Oakland degree. She was a three-time All-Horizon League First Team cross country runner. In her final collegiate season,
she won the Horizon League 10,000-meter title with a championship record, and she was named the league's 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
Nolan also volunteered as a phlebotomist at free clinics in the community, and she helped young girls discover running through the nonprofit Girls on the Run, the statement said. "Everyone who knew her saw her kindness, her drive and her joy," it said.
In comments shared with the Detroit Marathon before this year’s race, Nolan described the weather at her marathon debut as "absolutely awful" and herself as a "stressed and severely sleep deprived first-semester medical student" who didn’t know how to train for a marathon.
Even so, she couldn’t wait to return.
"I had the most fun I have ever had in a race that returning to this race wasn’t even a question!" she said.
"We are honored she chose to share her running with us," the statement said. "To Grace's family, friends, teammates, coaches and classmates: we hold you close and grieve with you. Grace, thank you for the light you brought to every start line. You will always be part of this race."
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit marathon elite runner dies ahead of race
