The 4th annual SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon was held this past weekend on Saturday, March 21st. In the four years the race has been held, this was by far the most exciting. Records were broken, a new men's marathon champion was crowned, and the Mayor of DC proved anyone can make running a priority if they want it badly enough.
The morning was cold, with the temperature at the start of the race hovering around the freezing mark. But, for an endurance athlete, the temperature was a welcome one. The weather was just about ideal with the cool temperatures, little to no wind, and partly sunny skies. The great weather was most likely a big factor in the great race times for not only the top athletes but all the finishers.
Speaking of top athletes, the men's half marathon was won by Demesse Tefera of Ethiopia, in an event record time of 1:05:15. The women's half marathon was won by Hirut Mandefro of Ethiopia, who also ran an event record of 1:15:36.The men's marathon saw a new champion as the only men's winner this race has ever known, Michael Wardian of Arlington, had to settle for second place. The new champion, Patrick Moulton of Providence, Rhode Island, won the race in another race record of 2:21:18. The women's race was won by Jeannette Seckinger of Sommerville, MA, who set a course record of 2:48:39.
Washington, DC mayor, Adrian Fenty, ran an amazing race, finishing in 3:25:46, nearly 15 minutes faster than his best marathon. In a post-race interview, Mayor Fenty discussed how anyone can find the time to run, if you make it a priority. So, the next time you think you don't have the time to run, just think about DC's busiest man. If he can find the time, so can you.
Congratulations to the over 6,000 finishers of the National Marathon and Half Marathon.
Happy running!
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