Weather cooperates for lake marathon

The third time was the charm for Jason Barhorst at the Grand Lake Marathon.

Barhorst, a 29-year-old Sidney native, was the first to cross the finish line in Saturday's race, posting a winning time of 2:56:26.3. A graduate of Lehman Catholic High School, Barhorst picked up the victory after having placed third the last two years as Justin Gillette won back-to-back crowns.

A total of 976 runners were spread out across the various racing platforms. Participation numbers were slightly lower than expected, but the day was still deemed a success by first-year race director Ryan King.

"It was a good day," he said. "The weather was favorable for us. It was a nice overcast day for the race. It worked out. We certainly enjoyed being able to get the race off without any issues."

King went on to thank volunteers and city officials for working with his Can't Stop Running team to help the event run smoothly. He said the goal is to grow the event even more in the upcoming years.

"Being our first year as race director, we spent a lot of the year working on logistics and making sure the details were in place," King said. "Truthfully, this next year is when we really get to really promote it. That's when we really expect growth."

Saturday's victory was the second win of Barhorst's marathon career; his first occured at the 2013 Indianapolis Marathon. The veteran marathoner has competed in 25 such races since he was 20.

"I was shooting for second," Barhorst admitted. "(Gillette) has won the last two, and he was significantly faster than me."

Gillette, from Goshen, Indiana, was signed up for this year's race but backed out at the last minute. Now it was Barhorst who was significantly faster than everybody else on the day - dropping nearly four minutes off of last year's time.

"This was my 25th marathon. I've also done a few ultras," Barhorst said. "(My time) was about average. My training has fallen off in the last year, so I've tried to pick it back up. It was good. The overcast really helped today."
Coldwater's Steven Wenning, 30, a fourth-place finisher last year, earned runner-up honors with a time of 3:04:44.8. Michael Doenges, 31, of Carmel, Indiana, was third 3:08:07.3. Chuck Blinn, 53, of Crestwood, Kentucky, was fourth at 3:22:00.9, and Celina's Kyle Minnich racked up another top-five finish with a time of 3:22:46.

The women's champion was 32-year-old Eva Bach, who traveled all the way from Jamestown, North Carolina, to earn a victory in her first-ever marathon. She completed the 26.2-mile run in 3:30:48 - which was the eighth-best overall time.

"I wanted to go for a 3:30," she said. "I was a little over my goal, but I was happy with how I ran."

Cincinnati native Jaimie Frazier, 27, had the second-fastest time in the women's field and was 10th overall, finishing at 3:33:24.1. Troy's Melissa Reineke, 37, was right behind with a 3:33:41.5 finish.

Minster's Greg Zumberger, 34, was the champion in the half marathon, posting a time of 1:20:10. The female champ in the half was Ottawa's Andrea Smith, 25, who completed the race in 1:34:53.8.

The full marathon co-ed relay victory went to a group from Wayland, Michigan. Kevin and Eric Stack teamed with Nick and Beth Wolters for a winning time of 2:57:06.3. The full marathon relay male division champs were Matt Geise, Erik Murlin, Nathan Giesige and Matt Salzmann, who combined for a time of 3:23:15.5. The full marathon relay female title winners were a group from Mercer County - Kellie Pearson, Kelly Braun, Kassie Holstad and Ashley Eyink. They had a time of 3:54:16.7.

Celina's Craig and Allison Bruns won the half marathon co-ed relay with a time of 1:45:41.5. St. Henry's Christina Siefring and Megan Wilker won the half relay female division with a 2:16:11.9.

Celina's own Hannah Fleck was the top overall finisher in the 5K with a time of 19:48.2. The male title in the 5K belonged to Adam West of Ridgetown, Ontario, with a time of 20:19.