Heat & Hills Challenged Runners for Marco Half Marathon – coastalbreezenews.com

By Staff 5 years ago

Heat & Hills Challenged Runners for Marco Half Marathon  coastalbreezenews.com

Photos by Maria Lamb | Starting line for Marco Island Half Marathon, on March 15, 2020—runners anxious to get started.

As Covid-19 dominates the headlines, the 12th running of the Marco Half Marathon and 5K gathered runners from all over the country on March 15th at the Shoppes of Marco. The 5K runners took a shorter course around the neighborhood behind the Shoppes of Marco with a series of slight elevations—enough challenge for 3.1 miles. 

The Half Marathon course took the runners to the Stan Gober Bridge in Goodland for the first 4 miles, and upon their descent, they made a left into the Key Marco gated community. The Sun made its presence known early as runners tested their legs and heart through the undulating hills with vistas of beautiful secluded homes. The elevation at Key Marco was 43 feet above sea level—and the runners felt the challenge. Hydration station were present all through the course. The meager remains of Captain Horr’s historical home at Key Marco did not slow the runners who were focused on heading back to San Marco Road and the finish line. 

At Mile 11, music greeted the runners and gave them a much–needed boost of confidence to make that 2 miles to the finish line. The March Half Marathon attracted close to 500 runners. According to the race coordinators, a few cancellations were received but there was a long line of new runners for race day registration. For the 5K (3.1 miles) there were 144 finishers. For the Half Marathon, (13.1 miles), 201 runners made it to the finish line. 

A large running group from the Gulf Coast Runners (GCR) of Naples participated in the Marco event. GCR recently announced that they were suspending all organized group events for the next 30 days or until further notice, which includes group runs, youth team practices and social events. Most of their activities are staged in the city of Naples and Collier County. Many of their long–distance came to Sunday’s event. 

The Fort Myers running group, The Speedsters, also brought a large running group to the Marco Island Half Marathon. The Boston Marathon has been postponed from April 20th to September 20th and it is the first delay in its 24 years’ history. Runners preparing for that race also participated in Marco’s event. 

Runner Jeannie Rice, of Mentor, Ohio and Bonita Springs, and a world record holder, was registered to run the Boston Marathon on April 20th but she said she was not concerned with the delay. She is a regular participant of the Marco Island Half Marathon and was glad to reconnect with local runners 

Rice is an amazing runner; always looking for a challenge and plans to break her own world records. At 72 years young, she holds the Age Group world record in the Marathon. She broke her own world record in the Berlin Marathon in September 2019, with a time of 3 hours, 24 minutes and 58 seconds, with an average of 7 minutes and 49 seconds per mile for 26.2 miles.  

Congratulations to all the Marco Island finishers in both the 5K and Half marathon:  

5K Top 3 Female Overall Finishers:  

  • Paige Priesman (Oak Harbor, OH) – 22.44 
  • Alley Rhinehart (Orlando, Fl) – 23:08 
  • Celina Alber (Marco Island, Fl) – 24.41 

5K Top 3 Male Overall Finishers: 

  • Bruce Bragg (Naples, Fl) – 18:48 
  • Paul Matten (Naples, Fl) – 20:10 
  • Aiden Karl (Marco Island, Fl) – 20:51 

Half Marathon Top 3 Female Finishers: 

  • Anna Gunderson (Menomonie, WI) – 1:29.44 
  • Mary Kate McLaughlin (Fort Myers, Fl) – 1:39.06 
  • Jeannie Rice (Bonita Springs, Fl) – 1:39.49 

Half Marathon Top 3 Male Finishers: 

  • Justin Moomaw (Naples, Fl) – 1:22.29 
  • Joseph Cannistraro (Weston, MA) – 1:29.02 
  • William Sutila (Chicago, Il) – 1:30.20