Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Images from the annual Baltimore Running Festival Marathon in Baltimore, Maryland
The 2026 Baltimore Running Festival which includes a 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, and the full Baltimore Marathon is set to take place this weekend. With a total of around 14,500+ runners across all the Baltimore Running Festival events, there are usually around 4,000 runners in the flagship Baltimore Marathon and one of those runners is Baltimore Police Detective Zachary Rutherford.
Detective Rutherford is speedy. He runs 6:13 miles which over the course of 26.2 miles puts him at a marathon time of 2:42:53. For comparison, the global average marathon time for men 4 hours and 21 minutes and 4 hours and 48 minutes for women. A 2:42:53 marathon time is fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon regardless of the age group. It’s fast!
So why exactly will he start last? To raise money for charity, of course.
Baltimore PD Detective Will Start Marathon In Last Place To Raise Money For Charity
For the 2026 Baltimore Running Festival, Detective Zachary Rutherford is part of the ‘Charity Chasers’ where they earn donations for every runner they pass in the race. He is running in partnership with the Signal 13 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which supports active-duty and civilian personnel of the Baltimore City PD.
The charity provides assistance to officers injured in the line of duty, those facing family emergencies, financial hardship, and exorbitant medical bills. Signal 13 Foundation also provides college scholarships to the children of active-duty Baltimore Police Department personnel as well as hosting community outreach programs and events throughout the year.
Why start in last place? I’m glad you asked!
By starting in dead last, Baltimore Police Detective Zachary Rutherford gives himself the best chance to pass as money runners as possible. And for every runner he passes over the 26.2 mile race course, he will earn $2 toward the Signal 13 Foundation.
The donations will be made by Corrigan Sports Enterprises which is a Sports Marketing / Events Management company based out of Elkridge, Maryland. They are the company that puts on the Baltimore Running Festival and the ‘Baltimore Marathon’ as most call it, as well as the Baltimore Ten-Miler, Frederick Maryland, and other events.
In years past, ‘Charity Chasers’ have earned upwards of $7,000 in the Baltimore Marathon. That would mean Detective Rutherford would need to pass 3,500 runners in the marathon which seems unlikely as the $7,000 figure in the past is combined across two Charity Chasers. But he will certainly be passing thousands of runners if he maintains the 6:13/mile pace.
At his expected pace with an estimated finishing time of 2:42:53 (chip time), Detective Rutherford would have run the 12th fastest time at the 2025 Baltimore Running Festival Marathon. Of course, he is starting in last place so plenty of runners will have crossed the finish line before he has a chance to catch them. But I like his chances to earn big bucks for charity this year.
To learn more about the foundations above you can follow the links to the Signal 13 foundation’s website and/or Corrigan Sports Enterprises.