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KIAWAH ISLAND — The combination of first-ever prize money and ideal running
conditions led to five course records at the 34th annual Kiawah Island
Marathon and Half Marathon.
With a total purse of $12,500 — including $2,500 for first place and $1,000
for setting course records — elite runners came out of the woodwork to run
Kiawah’s “flat and fast” course. Aided by temperatures in the mid-50s,
clouds and very little wind for Kiawah, records came crashing, starting with
the half marathon.
The 34th annual Kiawah Island Marathon and Half Marathon had 3,800
registered participants and produced record-setting performances on
Saturday.
George Towett, a Kenyan who trains out of Kennesaw, Ga., blew away the field
with a 1:05:49, nearly three minutes faster than second-place finisher
Emmanuel Ngatumy, a 19-year-old who trains in Marietta, Ga.
“It (race conditions) was very, very, very good,” said Towett, who is headed
back to Kenya for the holidays. “It (Kiawah) is a very beautiful place.”
Kenyan Risper Gesabwa wasn’t as fresh as Towett during an interview after
her record-setting 1:12:59.
“The course was very hard. It was hard, yeah, yeah. There were lots of
corners,” said Gesabwa, 22, who trains in Marietta, Ga. “But there was not
so much hills. It was flat and it was OK for me.”
While Towett and Gesabwa ran away from the competition, the marathon had a
duel between Kenyan Peter Ayieni, 33, of Worcester, Mass., and Blair Teal,
25, of Gastonia, N.C., who won the Kiawah Marathon in 2009. Ayieni’s late
sprint outpaced Teal by four seconds as he won in 2:20:27. Both finish times
broke the previous event record of 2:21:24.
The most significant record set was in the women’s division of the marathon,
where Justyna Mudy, a 27-year-old Poland native who trains in Rome, Ga.,
finished in 2:42:05, nearly nine minutes faster than the previous record
that was set in 1999.
Ashton gets masters mark
South Carolina wasn’t totally left out on the record-setting day. Eric
Ashton, 43, of Columbia, set a masters (age 40-and-up) record in the half
marathon of 1:09:33.
Marathon Overall
Males: Peter Ayieni 2:20:27; Blair Teal 2:20:31; Brian Johnson 2:32:46;
Patrick Jenkins 2:33:15.
Females: Justyna Mudy 2:42:05; Kimberly Fowler 2:51:24; Shawana White
2:55:32; Zola Budd Pieterse 3:01:51; Lori Kingsley 3:07:55.
Masters Males: John Piggott 2:36:38; Glen Thompson 2:44:53; John Hood
2:50:26.
Half Marathon Overall
Males: George Towett 1:05:49; Emmanuel Ngatumy 1:08:45; Adam Freudenthal
1:09:05; Jay Stephenson 1:09:23; Kevin Balster 1:11:28.
Females: Risper Gesabwa 1:12:59; Stephanie Pezzullo 1:13:52; Caitlin
Chrisman 1:18:50; Jennifer Mosliszewski 1:22:25; Ann Mazur 1:24:23.
Masters Males: Eric Ashton 1:09:33; Mike Selle 1:19:10; Marc Embler 1:22:20.
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