You don't have to be from Missoula, Montana to run the Missoula Marathon, but apparently it helps. This year runners from Missoula swept the top spots in both the half and full marathon.
Defending champ Kiefer Hahn, 37, won the men's division of the marathon in 2:30:37. Kiefer has won the event three times in the four year history of the race. Hahn didn't participate in 2008.
Brian Nelson, 30, of Ellington, Connecticut was second in 2:41:35 and Aaron Ladd, 27, of Portland, Oregon was third in 2:45:52.
The third time was a charm for Missoula native Trisha Miller. After placing third in this race in 2007 and again in 2009, Miller, 30, won the race today with a time of 3:02:22, a new PR.
Lisa Minnehan, 24, of Billings, Montana was second in 3:05:26 and Anya Wechseler, 23, of Missoula was third in 3:14:39.
In the men's division of the half marathon, Jimmy Grant, 32, of Missoula was first in 1:11:09. Grant was second to Hahn last year in the full marathon.
Michael Fisher, 22, of Ronan, Montana was second in 1:13:37 and Andrew Budiansky, 19, of Leesburg, Virginia was third in 1:14:55.
On the women's side, Meg Lerch, 26, of Missoula won with a time of 1:22:24. Fifteen-year-old Paige Gilchrist of Ovando, Montana was second in 1:25:18 and Victoria Russell, 38, of Spokane, Washington was third in 1:26:58. Russell placed second in the full marathon last year.
Just over 1,400 runners ran the marathon, and another 2,600 participated in the half. Temperatures were warm today, with highs in the upper 80s.
The Missoula Marathon, now in it's fourth year, was voted the Best Overall Marathon by the readers of Runner's World in January of 2010.
This year the number of participants nearly doubled in both the half and full marathon, and drew runners from all 50 states.
Jess Manning, the runner who was given a free race entry and hotel accommodations for representing Delaware at the last minute, ended up finishing the race in 3:35:13.
Check here for the complete official results of the 2010 Missoula Marathon.
Comments
An Examiner writer's sister ran in the Missoula Marathon. She said it was a gorgeous place to run.
That's great that locals took top spots. I like to hear that.
Where the heck is this marathon?
Sounds like home court advantage.
15 year-old Paige Gilchrist's time is outstanding. Likely a state record for that age.
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