It was a chilly morning on College Green as runners from around the country laced up their shoes, stretched their calves and got their blood flowing. With the starting line set at the corner of South College Street and East Union Street, athletes and onlookers gathered for the Athens Marathon.
The Athens Marathon, which is Ohio’s longest running marathon, is a standard 26.2 mile race. The fastest runners can even qualify for the Boston Marathon. In addition to the full marathon, there’s a half-marathon — 13.1 miles — for people to participate in.
Since 1968, the Athens Marathon has taken runners through a scenic journey of the best Athens has to offer starting from College Green, stretching out through HockHocking-Adena Bikeway and finishing at Pruitt Field.
Not every marathon runner is out to set a personal record or qualify for a bigger marathon; some are in it just for fun. Marlee Meador, who is from Hinton, West Virginia, traveled to Athens to run her first half marathon.
“I was visiting a friend and getting to do this at the same time,” Meador said. “So it’s the best of both worlds.”
Ben Stoessner, a freshman studying media arts production and sports management, also ran the half-marathon with people he knows.
“I love doing it with my friends,” Stoessner said. “I feel like we’ve just bonded over the past couple of months and we’ve become really close. So I feel like this was kind of a great thing to do together.”
Even the spring chill couldn’t dampen runners’ moods. Casey Edwards, a freshman studying marketing and sports management, ran the marathon with Stoessner and was not phased by the nip in the air.
“I want to quote one of my favorite quarterbacks Jameis Winston here, ‘The horse is up and playable for battle, but victory comes from the Lord,’” Edwards said. “Cold, it is what it is. Just keep running.”
For Edwards, running the half-marathon encouraged him to try something new.
“I just want to get out of my comfort zone and just do everything I can and make the most out of college,” Edwards said.
Marathon’s, half or full, are no small feat. Having the support of a loved one can be an important part of the race. A study in The Sport Psychologist found motivational encouragement such as praise for participation and effort, as well as verbally expressing belief in the runner, is valuable to marathoners.
McKenzie Lautt traveled from Minnesota to support her brother in the Athens Marathon. Lautt, who is training for a marathon in May, said she and her brother have shared experiences from the marathon preparation, but standing on the sidelines she saw how important support really is.
“The support system comes in clutch for sure,” Lautt said. “I think it’s nice when you know you’re doing this for yourself, but it’s nice to have people that are on the sidelines cheering you on and supporting you.”
There were 216 runners who ran the marathon and 652 runners who ran the half-marathon. Jake Stephens placed first in the full with a time of 2:37:15, and Cameron Christopher placed first in the half with a time of 1:09:13.
