Sedona AZ (February 7, 2017) – On a perfect 60F degree winter day, registrants from 48 states, and 12 countries raced through Sedona’s beautiful red rocks in the 12th Annual Sedona Marathon Event presented by Northern Arizona Healthcare. The largest field of registrants to date — 3,500, enjoyed the scenic yet difficult course, and the results are in.
3,500 registrants took on the full marathon challenge! This hilly course is one of the most difficult in the country as 60% is on a red dirt road. The first place male finisher was Michael Carson from Tempe, AZ, age 30 with a time of 02:52:55. In second place was Jake Suss from Glendale, AZ age 23 at 02:55:18, followed by Matt Heacock, age 39 from Scottsdale, AZ coming in at 03:15:32.
In the Full Marathon Woman’s Division, 32 year old Stacey Mulligan from Denver, CO finished first with a time of 03:37:51. In second place with a time of 03:44:28 was Xuanhuong (Song) Ton, age 41 from Folsom, CA. Jaime Kreft from Littleton, CO came in at 03:50:51 taking the bronze.
The half marathon distance was the largest of all four races with almost 1,500 registrants!
In the Half Marathon Men’s Division, 45 year old Marcel Laros traveling all the way from Oosterhout Netherlands won the gold with a time of 01:19:04. Andrew Abraham, age 25, from Flagstaff, AZ came in second place with a time of 01:25:06, followed by Alexander Mundell, age 22 from Prescott, AZ at 01:28:01.
In the Half Marathon Women’s Division, 37 year old local, Autumn Ray came in two minutes behind the first place male finisher at 01:21:22. In second place was the 2012 first place half marathon finisher Randi Simon, age 42 from Prescott Valley, AZ at 01:30:05. In third place from Winslow, AZ was Vanessa Kvien, age 31 with a time of 01:34:46.
In the 10K Men’s Division, gold went to Aaron Biah, age 24 from Flagstaff, AZ with a time of 00:36:27. 49 year old Cam Hill from Cottonwood, AZ won the silver coming in at 00:38:50. Less than one minute behind was Casper Sandoval from Parker, AZ with a final time of 00:39:39. Sandoval is only 16 years old!
The top three ladies in the 10K were dominated by Flagstaff, AZ runners. Alvina Begay, age 36 came in at 00:39:06, followed by Stephanie Hunt, age 33 at 00:43:17. Jen Sventek, age 45 won the bronze with a time of 00:46:34.
In the 5K Men’s Division, two young locals went head to head for the gold. Harry Danilevics, age 25 came in first place with a time of 00:18:15, followed by Local Juicery owner Michael Sanders, age 31 at 00:18:40. In third place was Christopher Pabst, age 25 from Flagstaff, AZ with a final time of 00:19:50.
In the 5K Women’s Division, Faye Hellman, age 32 from Philadelphia, PA took the gold with a time of 00:20:37. Haley Johnson from Bellemont, AZ placed second with a time of 00:21:50. Johnson is only 9 years old! In third place, local runner Sherry Christoff, age 55, came is at 00:22:32.
Congratulations to the 3,500 runners and walkers who completed the Sedona Marathon Events: Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K. Registrants came from all over the world including 45 runners from Japan. The oldest participant was 88 and the youngest was 3 years old.
The 12th Annual Sedona Marathon Event presented by Northern Arizona Healthcare is produced by BlueWolf Events LLC., and is owned by the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau. Final results are posted at www.SMEresults.com. The 13th Annual Sedona Marathon Event will be held on February 3, 2018.