The Lost Dutchman Marathon is an annual race held over President’s Day Weekend. With beautiful scenery held in Apache Junction AZ, the Lost Dutchman Marathon, Inc. is a public charity where their proceeds go directly to local youth organizations focused on the economically disadvantaged, according to their website. 

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According to their website, the Lost Dutchman Marathon has donated over $838,000 since their establishment in 2002. With numerous sponsors including Road Runner Sports, Road Safe Traffic Systems, and The Dons of Arizona, the Lost Dutchman Marathon was able to make this achievement. They said without their generosity, the race would not be possible. In 2023, they donated $60,000, according to their website. Some of the organizations they’ve donated to include Apache Junction High School Scholarships and City of Apache Junction Parks & Recreation Youth Scholarship Fund.

 

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The Lost Dutchman Marathon attracts a diverse range of participants all from various age groups, according to the data from Athlinks. The largest group consists of males aged 30-34. From 13-year-old participants to those aged 74, the Lost Dutchman Marathon includes a wide variety of ages and experience levels. 

A memorable part of the Lost Dutchman Marathon race is the views, according to the feedback given by past participants on their website. With its beautiful scenery, it is easy to want to run here, said Nadi Palli - a participant of the 2024 half marathon. He said he is an experienced runner and has done half and full marathons as well as triathlons in the past. He said his preparation was “not up to the mark,” but he said a big part that motivated him was the location of the race.

 

“It’s the scenery – it’s so beautiful to run here. This is my favorite race in Arizona”, said Palli.

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Not only are the views a positive aspect of this race, but quality time is as well. Monica Schrag, both a previous and recent participant in the 2024 half-marathon, said that this is her opportunity to see her family because she is from Kansas. Her husband, Mike Schrag, said it was a “family thing,” and it’s their moment to spend time together. Even though they said their training process was a “tough go," they were proud of the outcome. 

 

“We had lots of excuses, but we feel really good that we toughed it out, and it’s beautiful out here,” said Mike. “It was fun to come to some place warm and hangout together.”

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Many of the runners felt great pride in their completion of the race, such as two 23-year-old women named Quyen Pham and Jeaine Kim who ran the 10k. They both said they had been running for a little less than a year at the novice level, but they “still enjoy it.” Through the training process, they said they learned a lot about themselves and that it was very exciting. 

 

“I’m stronger than I thought I was. I think when I began to train I thought ‘I’m so slow I’m never going to do this,' but at the end of it I was really surprised at how far I came and how strong my body was,” said Pham. 

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