Maddie McQuirk, a McGuinness graduate, won the women's race at the 2026 OKC Memorial Marathon. This victory comes just three years after her first marathon experience while pregnant.
It was only three years ago when Maddie McQuirk ran in the OKC Memorial Marathon for the first time.
Near the end of her pregnancy with her daughter and competing in the half marathon, it was tough but satisfying at the same time.
McQuirk was hooked, and after giving birth, she went straight to work.
“I got addicted to the finish-line feeling and I wanted to see how fast I could go,” she said.
McQuirk has steadily gotten better over the last few years, and on Sunday, all the hard work resulted in a dominant win.
McQuirk won the OKC Memorial Marathon by nearly seven minutes as she crossed the finish line at Scissortail Park in 2 hours, 53 minutes and 6 seconds, while Nicole Clifford placed second in 3:00:53 and Jenna Woodward took third in 3:01:24.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Maddie McQuirk won the women's race at the 2026 OKC Memorial Marathon.
Maddie McQuirk participated in her first OKC Memorial Marathon while pregnant, running in the half marathon.
Since her first marathon, Maddie McQuirk has steadily improved her running performance, culminating in her recent victory.
Maddie McQuirk became addicted to the finish-line feeling and wanted to see how fast she could run after giving birth.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
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Scenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
A 2010 graduate of McGuinness, McQuirk ran cross country in high school and didn’t compete in college as she attended the University of Tulsa and OU’s nursing school.
Despite that, McQuirk’s love for running is as intense as ever, and she’s still improving at 34.
“I always just would run as far as I could,” said McQuirk, who was born in Dallas and raised in Oklahoma. “I went through a time where I had injuries a lot, trying to figure out how to train. I wanted to just do it to do it.”
McQuirk’s natural competitive drive pushed her to become what she is today.
A nurse — same as her husband — she played basketball in middle school before she started running, and that marked the beginning of everything.
“I joined because my sister did and I’m competitive and I was decent at it,” McQuirk said.
McGuinness had a big team, and McQuirk’s sister was mainly on it for the social aspect.
That wasn’t the case for McQuirk.
She was driven and still is.
And Sunday, there was lots of motivation as she had family in attendance. Her daughter, who is nearly 3, was there at the finish line waiting for her.
“Big motivation,” McQuirk said. “That’s probably what I was looking forward to most was seeing her at the finish. I’ve never seen her at a finish before. I’ve always done ones out of town.”
McQuirk was understandably exhausted as she broke the finish line tape, putting her hands on her knees and her sunglasses on her forehead.
McQuirk averaged a 6:37 pace per mile and completed the last mile in 6:36 despite being well ahead of her competitors.
“My legs were hurting pretty bad,” McQuirk said. “I was ready to finish, but the pictures always get me through it. It’s the second time I’ve done this, so it’s the motivation for that final kick.”
Maddie McQuirk wins the women's Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
Former Edmond North and Air Force runner Jaci Smith broke her own course record in the half marathon as she won in 1:15:52, while Elizabeth Talbi placed second in 1:16.58. Smith's previous record was 1:17:41 in 2021.
Mariela Rodas won the quarter marathon in 43:19 after placing third in Saturday’s 5-kilometer race with a time of 19:19. Finishing as the runner-up in the quarter marathon was Scarlet Stiglets, who completed the run in 46:23.
Jenny Simpson won the 5-kilometer race with a time of 17:58, and Dakotah Popehn placed second in 18:23. Simpson is a former Olympian. She took third in the 1,500-meter race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Maddie McQuirk wins 2026 OKC Memorial Marathon women's race