Elite Running

The Twin Cities Marathon was Sunday and it was awesome! My neighbors congregated at the corner to watch the start of the race--we live near the 3 mile mark. This was the first time in 4 years that I was able to join them. But I was not interested in socializing--I had friends to watch out for! Before I get to my friends, here are pictures I was able to take of the front-runners. I didn't know who any of these runners were; I just took pictures. I knew one of them would be the winner. I watched in awe as they ran.

Ladies first:

Marla Runyan, age 37, first female, 2:32:16

Mary Akor, age 30, came in second, 2:33:49

Zoila Gomez (she's the one in front), age 27, ran in third, 2:35:25

Here are the men:

Mbarak Hussein, age 41, came in first -- 2:13:51. He wasn't leading when he ran by my corner but he was holding his own with men in their 20s and early 30s. He won not only the overall race, but also the master's division. Not bad for a day's work, but of course we know that it's not just about race day, it's all the time spent training for it.

Simon Sawe, 32, ran in second 2:14:08. His race number is 2, and keeping pace with him is Fasil Bizuneh, who came in fifth. According to the local news source, Sawe and Hussein are good friends. The image was too dark, so I lightened Sawe's face in Photoshop so that you can see his features. That's why it looks a little weird.

The guy in front is Ryan Shay, age 27. He finished in third place in 2:14:57. Trailing him is Chris Graff, 30, who placed sixth.


This is Jason Lehmkuhle, 28. When I took this picture, he was the front runner. No other runner is even in this frame because he was so far ahead of everyone else. He finished in seventh place, which is why you should always start slow in marathons. Hussein, the winner, was behind all the men shown above.