With Video: Hundreds Run in Lansing Marathon
Seeing roughly 800 people lined up for Lansing's inaugural 26.2 mile marathon nearly brought tears to the one who created the race.
"I'm emotional, extremely emotional," Owen Anderson, founder of the Lansing Marathon, said. "This is what I've been looking forward to for over a year."
Anderson, along with Mayor Virg Bernero, pumped up the runners early Sunday morning, but it was also done to keep them warm.
"To see this many people in downtown Lansing on a Sunday morning, a chilly Sunday morning, is phenomenal," Mayor Bernero said. "Only a marathon could have done that. Only a marathon could bring thousands of people together. The potential for growth for this event is phenomenal."
After the opening remarks the runners got set and took off. Nearly 800 runners sprinted down Grand Ave. in Lansing embarking on a winding 26.2 mile course. The runners were all together at the beginning, but as the race went on many started to spread out and that was good news for many runners.
"You can maneuver through the course a lot easier than when it's a crowded field of runners," one runner said.
Many of the runners said the course was great. It was a flat surface that made it easy to run on. But, some runners said they had one big problem with the race on Sunday.
"The race was very nice and the course was good," Elijah Yator, a runner from Kenya, said. "The problem that made a poor time was the weather. There was a lot of wind."
"There were a couple spots where we ran for a couple miles with the wind in our face, but that was on the way out so then on the way back you know you'll have the wind at your back," Rick Lehto said.
At the finish line was a sigh of relief from the runners and organizers because both had finished the inaugural marathon.
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