Bryan Morseman had just won both a half marathon and a full marathon last weekend, but by Thursday he was ready to go at it again.
So the Bath, New York, resident registered for the Mill Race Marathon on Thursday night. He packed up his family and drove to Columbus on Friday, getting in at 9 p.m.
Morseman then got up Saturday morning and won the Mill Race Marathon, becoming the first repeat winner in the marathon’s six-year history.
“I love this area, I love this race and I love this course,” Morseman said. “It’s nice weather, overcast, but it’s windy out there, very windy.”
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With the exception of the wind, conditions were comfortable for running. Race organizers had hoped the low-60s temperatures would yield course records in the marathon, but Morseman ran 2 hours, 28 minutes, 4 seconds, about five minutes off the record 2:23:08 run by Japhet Kipkoech in 2016.
Morseman, who has run 95 marathons and won 58 of them, won the 2015 Mill Race Marathon in 2:26:41 and finished fourth in 2:30:15 in 2016. He also was among the leaders in the inaugural race in 2013, but was led off course and disqualified from an official finish, although he did receive the top prize money.
Saturday, Morseman led from start to finish. He ran with one of the half-marathoners for much of the first half of the race before going solo the final 13 miles.
“Running all by yourself, it’s hard, but that’s how I like to run,” Morseman said. “I just wanted to get out there and push myself. I feel like I push my body more when I run by myself. You’re just trying to stay ahead of everybody else instead of trying to stay with somebody.”
Kyle Stansbury, of Bedford, finished second in 2:39:43, and Nick Salupo of Indianapolis was third in 2:42:13. North Vernon’s Luke Inman was the top local finisher, taking fourth in 2:45:29.
On the women’s side, Laurah Lukin of Cincinnati claimed her first marathon victory in more than 20 tries. She ran a personal-best 3:05:08.
Lukin was competing in her third Mill Race Marathon. She finished third in 2015, took 2016 off to have a baby, then returned to finish second last year.
“This is very, very special for me,” Lukin said. “I love this race. I think the support at this race is fantastic — the bike pacers and the water stops and all the volunteers are so nice and encouraging.”
Lukin ran with a couple of male training partners. Natalie Leverone of Covington, Kentucky, was with the group from Miles 9 through 17 before falling off the pace and finishing second in 3:08:27.
“It’s amazing,” Lukin said. “I was so excited. The weather was so much better this year than last year, so I think that helped. A couple of the guys who I train with were also running with me, so they kept me entertained the whole way. Then, my husband surprised me and drove up and ran the last couple hundred feet in with me, so it was awesome.”
Kenyan Kiprop Mutai won the half-marathon. Mutai, who moved to Bowling Green, Ohio, five months ago, ran a personal-best 1:05:50.
“I feel very good,” Mutai said. “This is my fastest time. It’s good weather, and I like it.”
Vicoty Chepngeno of Grand Prairie, Texas, was the top women’s half-marathon finisher in 1:16:06.
“This is my first time to be here, and I like this place,” Chepngeno said. “It’s a good environment.”
In the 5K, Brant Basting, of Indianapolis, was the winner. The Bloomington-Normal, Illinois-native finished in 17:42.
“It’s awesome,” Basting said. “It’s beautiful conditions, couldn’t have gotten any better with the weather. The course was awesome.”
Taylor Austin, of Terre Haute, was the top female 5K finisher. The Griffith native and recent Indiana State University graduate ran the course in 17:59.
“It’s my first race back since I’ve been re-training, so it was actually really fun,” Austin said. “I had some guys help pace me, and it felt pretty easy.”
