Weather lifts marathon runners

CELINA - Arlen Glick and Lynn (Kanney) Huwer are the new king and queen of the Grand Lake Marathon.

Massillon native Glick, 25, was the overall male champion with a time of 2:44.35 while Coldwater's own Huwer, 33, won the female crown - and placed seventh overall - with a mark of 3:16.10 on Saturday at the fifth annual event.

Glick has competed in an estimated 15 ultra marathons and marathon races. He made his first full-marathon debut at the Grand Lake Marathon but hadn't returned since 2015.

"I've wanted to come back ever since, but it just never worked out until this year," Glick said. "I love the course - it's a beautiful course. This is the nicest weather I've ever had for a marathon.

"(Winning) wasn't totally unexpected," he added. "Justin Gillette ran a lot faster a few years ago, but he hasn't been back since then. I know Jason Barhorst, and he won the last two years with a 2:56:00. It wasn't a shock, but it felt pretty good. I lost about a mile in the first half on the first-place runner and then around 20 miles, I caught up to him. I was able to pass him up."

Nick McDonald of Chillicothe finished runner-up in a time of 2:52.43 and James Garner of Fishers, Indiana, placed third with a time of 2:53.25.

Glick became the third runner to win the marathon title. Justin Gillette (2014 and 2015) and Jason Barhorst (2016 and 2017) had each won back-to-back titles in the first four years of the event. Glick's time was the fastest since Gillette's 2:43:12.8 in 2015. Glick was barely out of breath after finishing, and he planned to take a cool-down run with his brother, Andrew, to wrap up the morning.

"My brother is out on the course right now running his first marathon," Arlen Glick said. "He just decided two days ago to run a marathon. He's not in shape for it, but I'm excited to see how he does. I might go join him in a little bit here."

Andrew Glick completed the race with a time of 4:10:06.8.

Huwer had ran three marathons before Saturday, including Grand Lake, Columbus and Boston. As Huwer raced down the final stretch, she was joined on the course by her sons Evan and Will.

"It was amazing," Huwer said. "I had a ton of support. My family was all there and two of my kids finished with me. It was awesome and it was emotional and it was really neat.

"I was hoping just to qualify (for the Boston Marathon)," she added. "My goal time was 3:20. I did well. I surprised myself."

Erin Arnett of Hilliard was the female runner-up with a time of 3:30:14 and Heidi Irwin of Findlay placed third (3:35.02).

In the half marathon, Coldwater's Ashley Lefeld was the top female - and fourth overall finisher - with a time of 1:28.32. It was her fourth time running the Grand Lake half marathon, and she's finished in the top three of the female division each time.

"My goal was to be under 1:30. The weather definitely helped me," said Lefeld, who was using the half marathon as training for the Columbus Marathon in three weeks. "You had a breeze pushing you. It made for a great run."

Ryan Donovan of Huntsville won the half marathon with a time of 1:23.45.9. Zachary Novitske of Kettering (1:24.30) and Nathan Waggenspack of Columbus (1:28.18) finished second and third overall in the half. Julia Donovan of Huntsville, Alabama, was runner-up in the female division of the half with a time of 1:32:52.2. Julie Riffle of Hilliard was third (1:34:21.1).

The event drew about the same number of participants as last year's, co-race director Ryan King said. And the weather was much nicer this time around, too. Last year's racers had to deal with 90-degree heat.

"There's no doubt that you can contribute a lot of the success of the day to the weather," King said. "It was a fantastic day for everybody running. The event went smooth. The participants were coming across with a smile on their face."