Quincy native places in top 15,000 runners at 50th running of Berlin Marathon

BERLIN, Germany — Ethiopian runners dominated the 50^th running of the Berlin Marathon last week, with winners in both the men’s and women’s races and runners in five of the six podium places. 

Chris Palmer, a Quincy native now living in McHenry, Ill., finished in the top 2,000 in his age division and just barely missed being one of the top 15,000 runners overall.

Palmer, a teacher at Grayslake Central High School in suburban Chicago, finished the race in 3 hours, 35 minutes and 30 seconds. He finished in 1,783^rd place in the 45 age group. He placed 12,422^nd in the men’s division and in 15,018^th place overall.

The event is held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany, on the last weekend of September. This year’s race attracted a record 54,062 participants, 11,000 more than the number who participated in 2023.

Palmer ran to support a Chicago-area charity called “Camp One Step,” a not-for-profit that helps send kids with cancer to summer camp. He also has run in the Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon, and he has a goal of running in marathons in London and New York next year.

Palmer, a 1997 graduate of Quincy Notre Dame High School, is a son of Quincy attorney James Palmer and his wife, Ann. He previously helped coach the girls cross country teams at Grayslake Central, which won Class 2A state championships in 2022 and 2023 and placed second in 2024. 

Milkesa Mengesha, 24, beat Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut by just five seconds in the men’s event, finishing in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Fellow Ethiopian Haymanot Alew was third. 

Tigist Ketema, 26, claimed victory in the women’s event, finishing in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 42 seconds, more than two minutes ahead of compatriots Mestawot Fikir and Bosena Mulatie.