A new all-electric truck is assisting the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon in promoting clean energy. The Ford F-150 Lightning PRO, owned by FirstEnergy, will guide this year’s race winner to the finish line on Saturday, Sept. 28.
The role of the pace car is to stay close to the runners so they can see the clock on its back and keep track of their times. A few miles into the race, a lead runner creates separation and sets the pace for the rest of the course.
This year’s pace truck is one of 19 electric trucks that FirstEnergy employees use to travel to job sites and respond to outages. The vehicle helps reduce FirstEnergy’s carbon footprint daily, and since it does not produce emissions, marathon participants will avoid running through exhaust during the 26.2-mile race.
Driven by Kris Martin, an analyst on FirstEnergy’s Customer Policy & Solutions team, the pace car averages speeds of 10-15 mph during the race and will display marathon decals along with the names of 6,500 participants, including 100 FirstEnergy employees.
“We are proud to help keep runners safe and on course while also highlighting how the company is supporting new and cleaner technology,” said Torrence Hinton, President of FirstEnergy Ohio. “We’re excited to keep up with tradition and allow all race participants to find their name on the car once they cross the finish line.”
On average, the electric F-150 can travel about 312 miles after a full charge. The estimated fuel cost savings from using this electric truck is about $4,250 over five years.
The truck is also more cost-effective to maintain compared to its gas counterpart and includes several safety improvements. For example, because of its battery location, it has a lower center of gravity which decreases rollover risk in crashes.
Last year, FirstEnergy used a Tesla as the pace car for the Akron Marathon.