KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Everything is big when you are talking about the Kalamazoo Marathon and the Borgess Run for the Health of It.
It takes about 2,000 volunteers just to make it happen. Last year, 8,800 ran in the multiple events, which range from a fun run for kids to a full-certified 26.2-mile marathon course that is a qualifier for the Boston marathon.
This year, Race Director Blaine Lam expected Mother’s Day to cut into their total number of participants.
There was near-perfect weather for the start of the race, which is a spectacular scene as a river of runners head out of the Nazareth Campus, some of them heading downtown as they try to complete the marathon.
Many were diverted in another direction, further along the course to complete the half-marathon. The runners participating in the 5K and 10K took a different route away from Nazareth.
Kalamazoo Marathon results:
- Robby Haas, 26, of Chicago, finished first with a time of 2:45:07.
- Emery Pitcel, 25, of Casco, finished second.
- Dustin Pitcel, 22, of Kalamazoo, finished third.
- Cindy Huntington, 21, of Portage, was the first woman to finished with a clock time of 3:15:59. Overall, she finished 21st.
Kalamazoo Half-Marathon results:
- Kyle Mena, 30, of Portage, came in first with a time of 1:12:24.
- Patrick Dalton, 20, of Valparaiso, Ind., finished second.
- Jeff Nordquist, 26, of Kalamazoo, came in third.
- Hannah Norton, 34, of Athens, was the first woman to finish, 8th overall at 1:22:27.
5K results:
- Matthew Melvin, 24, of Ann Arbor, finished first with a time of 15:35.
- Brandon Wynsma, 21, of Augusta, came in second.
- Lauren McVicar, 33, of Kalamazoo, was the first woman to finish at 18:35. Overall, she was fifth.
- Lauren Arquette, 19, of Kalamazo,o was the second female finisher. Overall, she was 13th.
10K results:
- Brendan Molony, 23, of Kalamazoo, finished first with a time of 32:42.
- Timothy Murray, 29, of Goshen, Ind., finished second.
- Amanda Weaver, 25, of Ann Arbor, was the first female to finish at 38:16.
- Elaine Sheikh, 22, of East Lansing, was the second woman to cross the line. Overall, she was eighth.
