Beating the heat: Kenyan, Mexican win marathon; Ohioans capture half marathon

Leader of the Mill Race Half Marathon Sammy Rotich approaches the finish line, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Paige Grider for The Republic Paige Grider / For The Republic

Unseasonably warm temperatures prevented any course records on Saturday morning, but more than 3,200 runners and walkers braved the heat and humidity to finish the Mill Race Marathon, half-marathon and 5K.

Of those, 196 finished the full marathon, led by native Kenyan Julius Maisei and native Mexican Gisela Olalde, who ran to victories in their 26.2-mile journeys through Columbus.

The temperature was in the mid-60s when the marathon and half-marathon began at 7:30 a.m. By the time the top men’s runners finished just after 10 a.m., it was in the mid-70s. As the day wore on the temperature climbed into the 80s, with high humidity.

Maisei, who splits his time between Kenya and Toledo, Ohio, finished in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 37 seconds. His time was about 8 1/2 minutes off the course record of 2:23:08 set by Japhet Kipkoech in 2016 and about 3 1/2 minutes off last year’s winning time of 2:28:04 by Bryan Morseman.

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But Maisei was thrilled with the victory.

“I am happy to win here today,” Maisei said. “There was no rain like I thought. The marathon was cool.”

Morseman, a two-time Mill Race Marathon winner from Bath, New York, ran with Maisei until about the 20-mile mark. Morseman, who began experiencing a side stitch a couple miles earlier, stopped for about a half-minute. He stopped again and vomited twice at about the 22-mile mark.

“At that point, I was just like, ‘I’ll run a 7-minute pace in and be OK,’” said Morseman, who finished second in 2:33:44. “It was a struggle. We were 5:40 to 6 (minutes) every mile, so that put us over that 2 1/2-hour mark.”

The women’s winner, Olalde, was more than 9 minutes faster than last year’s winning time. The Nashville, Tennessee, resident ran 2:55:55.

Olalde also won the Mill Race Marathon in 2015 before taking a three-year break from running.

“I’m trying to slowly gain fitness, and I knew this was a good indicator of where I am because I’ve been training for trail races, and my goal is the marathon,” Olalde said. “I was happy with the way that I did race and win. I think today was a little hot and humid.”

Elizabeth James of Wylie, Texas, was the second women’s finisher in 3:00:59.

Meanwhile, another Kenyan living in Toledo captured the half-marathon. Sammy Rotich covered the 13.1 miles in 1:07:25.

“I like running,” Rotich said. “This race is good, and I like to run here.”

Logan Barrett of Louisville placed second in 1:10:21, 8 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Jesse Davis of Indianapolis.

Amy Manning of Cincinnati was the top women’s half-marathon finisher in 1:23:33. Manning also won the Toledo Marathon and a half-marathon in Lexington, Kentucky, this year.

“It was hot (Saturday), so it wasn’t quite the time I was shooting for, but in the heat all bets are off,” Manning said. “But it’s cool to be able to win. It was fun out there. It’s a flat course, which is always nice, and it was kind of a nice test to my fitness at this point.”

Claudia Brinkruff of Greenfield was the second women’s finisher in 1:23:33. Laura Gilbert of Columbus was third in 1:30:33.

In the 5K men’s race, Northside Middle School girls cross-country coach Kyle Burton, a former runner at Columbus North and Eastern Kentucky University, ran to victory in 17:28.

“It’s fun,” Burton said. “I’m glad I get to show that team that I’m in shape, and I’m working hard out here today, too.”

One of Burton’s top runners at Northside, seventh-grader Sierra Newell, was the top female 5K finisher in 21:08.

“It wasn’t too hard,” Newell said. “It was nice and chill.”