FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leigh Greenfelder
(330) 996-4140
McNeil, Colita Win Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon
Purple Heart Iraq vet takes second in men's marathon; over 9,000
participate in three races at 30th edition
CLEVELAND - (May 20, 2007) - Participation in the Rite Aid Cleveland
Marathon surged by more than 15 percent for its 30th edition on Sunday,
with Northeast Ohio runners among the top finishers in nearly every race
category.
In the marathon, it was a neck-and-neck competition for nearly 13 miles
with Brian McNeil of Charlotte, N.C. pulling ahead of runner-up, Gerado
Avilla of Flushing, Mich. around mile 23. McNeil, 23, completed the 26.2
mile course, which has been recognized by Running USA as one of the fastest
marathons in the country based on median times, with a time of 2 hours, 31
minutes, 6 seconds. Avilla, 32, a Purple Heart recipient and active duty
soldier stationed in New York, who was injured in 2004 in Iraq, ran
2:32:19. Gregory Byrnes, 23, of Pittsburgh was third in 2:36:07.
The top three women in the marathon each set a personal record. Claudia
Colita, 29, from Romania won the women's race in 2:48:41, while Laura
Brosius, 22, of Saline, Mich. finished second (3:03:43) and Stow, Ohio
native Cindy Kasper, 33, was third this year, one place higher than her
2006 finish, in 3:05:05.
The increasingly popular half-marathon, in its third year at the Rite Aid
Cleveland Marathon, was dominated by Ohio runners. The top six male and top
four female finishers were all Ohio residents. Derrick Butler, 26, of
Cincinnati set a course record in 1:07:54. Fred Keiser, 36, of Cleveland
who was the 2005 marathon winner, claimed second in the 13.1 mile race with
his 1:09:18 and Ryan Hochstetler, 25, of Wooster, finished third (1:10:23).
Anjanette Arabian, 33, of Rocky River, was the unchallenged women's
half-marathon champion at 1:21:58. Eva Miller, 27, of Hudson, was second in
1:25:07 and third place was claimed by Tracy Meder, 27, from Stow, with a
1:26:44.
Official results for the 10K race were not available at press time because
an undetermined number of runners ran off the official course. Race
officials will attempt to determine the number of runners who ran off
course and plan to extend prize money to top finishers affected by the
error.
As of Sunday morning, 9,077 participants were registered to run, walk or
wheel in one of the three races that were part of the 30th Rite Aid
Cleveland Marathon.
30th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon
Cleveland, OH, Sunday, May 20, 2007
MEN
1) Brian McNeil (NC), 2:31:06, $1000
2) Gerado Avilla (MI), 2:32:19, $500
3) Gregory Byrnes (PA), 2:36:07, $300
4) Ray Appenheimer (OH), 2:36:54, $200
5) Jeff Snider (OH), 2:37:56, $100
WOMEN
1) Claudia Colita (ROM), 2:48:41, $1000
2) Laura Brosius (MI), 3:03:43, $500
3) Cindy Kasper (OH), 3:05:05, $300
4) Anna McClaugherty (OH), 3:06:57, $200
5) Tricia Brau (OH), 3:08:58, $100
Race results at: www.ClevelandMarathon.com
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