Detroit marathon elite runner Grace Nolan dies in car crash on eve of race

Detroit Marathon elite runner Grace Nolan was killed in a car accident ahead of the October 18 marathon.

Grace, who was planning to return to the Detroit Free Press Marathon as an elite athlete, died in a tragic accident on early October 18, in Walled Lake, the night before the race.

According to media reports, Nolan, 25, was in her second-year at Oakland University’s William Beaumont School of Medicine in southeastern Michigan, where she was pursuing medicine.

The Detroit Free Press Marathon first reported her death in an Instagram post on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

She had finished fourth in her debut marathon a year ago.

“She was the most curious, angelic, intelligent, loyal incredible person,” her mother, Wendy Nolan, told Detroit Free Press, describing her as one-of-a-kind, tenacious and fearless.

Nolan dreamed of becoming a cardiologist and received a full scholarship for academics and athletics as an undergraduate, then earned a master’s degree in public health and an academic award for medical school, all at Oakland.

Nolan is survived by her parents, Jason and Wendy Nolan, her brothers Truman (Tori Loreto) and Aidan (Chloe Brueck) and her beau, Matt Dennison.