It was still dark and a little chilly when the runners took off at a little after 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 for the Spring Hill Marathon. The fourth annual Marathon Mania consisted of six races – the 26.219 mile Marathon, the Best Friends 50K, the Half Marathon, the 10K, 5K and the Kids’ Race for Cupcakes. The course started at Anderson Snow Sports Complex and went south along the Suncoast Trail.
Each race, except for the children’s race, was divided into age and gender classifications. The age groups were in ten year increments up to age 79, for example, ages 10-19, 20-29, etc. There was also an over 80 age group, however no one in that age group participated. The youngest runner in the Marathon was sixteen-year-old Samuel Moldenhauer who clocked in at 5:42:20. Rayaan Kader, age fifteen, was the youngest competitor in the Half Marathon and finished at 1:23:59. Gaby Alarcon, at age fourteen, was the youngest overall competitor and finished the 5K at 49:25:86.
According to Race Director Craig Levan, it was the only race in the county where you could qualify for the upcoming Boston Marathon. It was also a fundraiser for the Emory ALS Foundation in Georgia.
The overall winners in the Marathon were Gary Krugger, age thirty-three, with a time of 2:58:46; Ted Bowles, age forty-nine, at 3:02:26; and Jon Nash, age thirty-two at 3:19:24.
Krugger, a resident of Arizona, has competed in a whopping 350 marathons and won eighty in his ten years of running. Bowles traveled to Florida from Chicago for this, his twelfth marathon. For Jon Nash, from New Hampshire, this is his first marathon in Florida having competed in seven others. He has been running marathons for only fifteen months.
Winners of the ‘My Best Friends 50K’ were Joel Rich clocking in at 3:45:51; Michael Maddock, Jr at 4:43:07; and Hollie Nelson with a time of 5:06:06.
Rayaan Kader won the Half Marathon with a time of 1:23:59. Katyln Eble captured second place at 1:31:36 and Erik Smith took third place with a time of 1:32:51.
Winners in the 10K were Matthew Bucklin with a time of 00:44:52. Michael Dunn clocked in at 00:45:21.21 to take second place, coming in just five seconds ahead of Osama Al Quattan, who took third place at 00:45:26.
In the 5K Paul Catalano took the first place trophy, clocking in at 00:22:06. Ken Atkins won second place with a time of 00:25:17, nosing out Joseph Dono by just thirty-one seconds, whose time was 00:25:48.
Everyone who completed their respective races received a medal at the finish line. Top three finishers in each age/gender division were awarded an additional medal, while the winners overall in each race received a trophy.
For a complete list of results go to https://www.arrowliveresults.com/
