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.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.1 / 4See our best photos of runners competing in 2026 OKC Memorial MarathonScenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.1 / 4See our best photos of runners competing in 2026 OKC Memorial MarathonScenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.2 / 4See our best photos of runners competing in 2026 OKC Memorial MarathonScenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.3 / 4See our best photos of runners competing in 2026 OKC Memorial MarathonScenes from the 2026 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.4 / 4See our best photos of runners competing in 2026 OKC Memorial MarathonScenes 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.
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.”
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