From USA Today:
Kristen Henehan, a three-time All-American in track at Georgetown, won the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, while Ethiopia’s Tamrat Ayalew took the men’s title in the event that featured more than 22,000 runners.
Henehan finished the course among the monuments in the nation’s capital in 2 hours, 51 minutes, 9 seconds, edging ahead of Lisa Thomas in the final mile to win the women’s division by 27 seconds.
“I truly was not going out with the mind-set of, ‘I want to win,”‘ said Henehan, who had never run a full 26.2 miles before beginning training three months ago. “I was going out with the mind-set of, ‘I’m running my first marathon and I want it to be a positive experience.”‘
Ayalew finished the final five miles all alone to unseat two-time defending champion Ruben Garcia with a time of 2:22:18 in the men’s race.
The 33-year-old Ayalew, who lives in Atlanta, separated himself from Garcia, a corporal in the Mexican Navy, as they crossed the 14th Street Bridge toward Crystal City. By the time they looped around the Pentagon in the 23rd mile, Ayalew had more than a 40-second lead.
“I looked behind me and I’d always see him there,” Garcia said through a translator. “He was going to catch up and pull away.”
Carl Rundell, who had finished in the top five the last three years and twice was runner-up to Garcia, stayed with the front-runners for the first 18 miles before fading to fifth. He skipped next week’s Olympic trials to participate.
Men
| 1 | TAMRAT AYALEW | 02:22:18 | 5:25 | USA |
| 2 | RUBEN GARCIA | 02:24:18 | 5:30 | USA |
| 3 | JARON HAWKINS | 02:25:29 | 5:32 | USA |
| 4 | JOSE MIRANDA | 02:26:01 | 5:34 | USA |
| 5 | CARL RUNDELL | 02:26:27 | 5:35 | USA |
Women
| 1 | KRISTEN HENEHAN | 02:51:09 | 6:31 | USA |
| 2 | LISA THOMAS | 02:51:36 | 6:32 | USA |
| 3 | CLAUDIA COLITA | 02:54:15 | 6:38 | USA |
| 4 | GINA SHAW | 02:56:39 | 6:44 | USA |
| 5 | MARTHA MERZ | 02:56:41 | 6:44 | US |
