FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nicholas Hilton Breaks Course Record
Winning Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon
- Olympian Janet Bawcom places first in the women's half establishing new
event mark
- Olympian Daniel Vargas of Mexico wins men's half; Tara Martine wins
women's marathon
- American Idol winner Phillip Philllips headlined finish line festival
Savannah, Ga. - November 8, 2014 - It was a cool and beautiful morning in
Savannah with perfect running temperature and fast times prevailed. More
than 17,000 runners took over the Spanish Moss lined streets to participate
in the 4th annual Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon & 1/2.
Nicholas Hilton, 25, of Flagstaff, Arizona made his way to the start line
ready to give it his all. Hilton came out strong, taking and holding the
lead most of the 26.2 miles all the way to the tape finishing at 2:21:31
and shattering the marathon course record by eight minutes. Hilton was
followed by second place finisher Belay Kassa, 33, of Ethiopia in 2:33:07
and third place finisher Zaven O'Bryant, 28, from Atlanta, GA making his
marathon debut in 2:34:45.
"My coach told me to find a race in a location where I wanted to go and
I've always wanted to visit Savannah and it seemed like a great event so I
chose to come here," said Hilton, who won the first marathon of his career.
"Considering where I'm at with my training right now I'm really, really
pleased with how the race went. It was definitely a flat course, with a
little bit of roll, which is great and everyone cheering along the course
was fantastic."
Wilmington, North Carolina resident Tara Martine, 32, won the women's
marathon in 2:59:12. She was not expecting to win, but at mile 22 she took
the lead and held on for victory. Jennifer McGranahan, 35, of Pensacola,
Florida finished second in 3:04:46 followed by third place finisher Rebecca
Webb, 31, of Abingdon, VA in 3:10:27. All three women on the podium ran new
personal records.
"I saw the woman ahead of me around 15 miles and she looked really strong,"
said Martine. "I thought there is no way I am going to catch up to her so I
am going to run my race and try and get my sub three. Around mile 22 I
caught up to her and she said, 'congratulations you're running strong go
for it' and I was able to hold on to the end."
Olympian Daniel Vargas, 30, from Mexico took the men's half marathon
finishing in 1:04:20. His brother Juan Vargas, 37, of Mexico placed second
in 1:06:41. Nathan Haskins, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia rounded out the top
three men's half marathon finishers in 1:10:19.
Olympian Janet Bawcom, 36, who lives in Rome, Georgia when not training in
Flagstaff, Arizona also broke the course record winning the women's half
marathon in 1:13:05. Lindsey Scherf, 28, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
finished second in 1:14:26 and Morgan Van Gorder, 24 of Atlanta, Georgia
placed third with a PR of 1:20:29.
"I went out there and tried to do a hard run," said Bawcom. "I fell off in
the middle but then I picked it up again. I really wanted to run under 73
but I can't complain a win is a win."
More than 17,000 runners are participating over race weekend, which
included today's marathon, half marathon and relay as well as Sunday's new
5k, 1 mile and KiDS Rock. All finishers will earn a medal at each race,
however runners who participated in both Saturday and Sunday's events will
earn a special Remix Challenge medal to commemorate their accomplishment.
American Idol winner Phillip Phillips headlined the finish line festival
along with performances by Cranford Hollow and Nickel Bag of Funk. The
event is famous for lining the race route with live, local bands and
enthusiastic cheerleaders.
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