Marathon, medals cheer good fortune

— When deciding how to market this year’s 11th running, Little Rock Marathon organizers settled on a “lucky” theme.

It’s one thing to be able to complete the marathon’s distance of 26 miles, 385 yards, but even the most elite participants in the field of 3,000 will need to carry more than a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe or a rabbit’s foot if they plan on unseating defending champions Mark Chespes and Leah Thorvilson.

Chespes, from Kenya, has been the fastest man in the event over the past two years. Little Rock’s Thorvilson, who finished the 2012race with her best marathon time (2:37.26), has been the first woman finisher four consecutive years.

Chespes, 36, and Thorvilson, 34, are two of the dozens of elite runners entered in the marathon, which starts at 8 a.m. Sunday in downtown Little Rock. The race also serves as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon in April.

Top challengers to Thorvilson include Hellen Rotich of Manor, Texas, Sarah Overpeck of Indianapolis and Tracy Tungac of Bryant. Rotich, 30, won the 2008 Little Rock Marathon in 2:50.33. Overpeck, 29, ran the marathon from 2007 to 2010 and has her sights set on finishing the race in the 2:49 range. Tugnac, 30, who raced in Little Rock in 2011 and 2012, is looking for her first sub-3-hour finish.

On the men’s side, Chepses could see a challenge from former Harding University runners Dan Kirwa and Wojciech. Kirwa, of Kenya, finished second (2:22.39) in the recent Mercedes-Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Ala., while Kopek of Poland was third at Birmingham six seconds behind Kirwa.

Other challengers include Jesse Davis, 31, of Indianapolis, who finished second in the 2012 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in 2:19.10, and Jacob Buhler of Edmond, Okla., who won the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April in 2:27.30.

Nearly 10,000 runners are registered to run in Sunday’s three races - the marathon (3,000), half-marathon (5,300) and 10K (1,600).

Today’s activities include the 5K fun run/walk, which has 1,600 participants entered, and the Little Rockers Kids Marathon with 1,800 signed up.

The overall total of 13,300 participants for all the races is about 2,000 more than last year’s 11,000, which is fine with race chairman Nancy Green.

“We’ve grown each year exactly to the tune of what we’ve wanted to grow each year,” Green said. “We haven’t had major changes. We feel we have been pretty successful in the past and believe this weekend will be no different.”

There is $19,000 in prize money available to top finishers in the marathon and half-marathon, with the winning male and female marathoners receiving $2,000.

Thorvilson, who finished fourth overall in 2012, was the first female to finish the Little Rock Marathon in under 2:40. She won the 2011event in 2:45.51 and the 2010 case in 2:48.28.

In 2012, Chespes ran 2:29.42. That was nearly five minutes slower than when he led the pack in 2011 (2:24.07)

Charles Kamindo of Superior, Colo., owns the race record in the male division with a 2:19.48 in 2006.

Between 3,500 and 3,800 volunteers will be called on today and Sunday. Volunteers chairman Linda Sue Sanders said race weekend is nonstop all the way through Sunday night’s post race party.

Runners won’t encounter any major changes during the race, but they’ll notice something new at the finish line when race medals are draped around their necks. This year’s horseshoe-shaped medal, with “Lucky” emblazoned across the base, weighs 2 pounds, 12 ounces and is 8 inches long.

“It just kind of happened,” said Geneva Hampton, who serves as the race’s co-executive director along with Gina Marchese Pharis. “We always try to make our medal better and, if financially possible, make it bigger. That’s pretty well what we were thinking when we went with this look.”

Little Rock Marathon WHEN 8 a.m. Sunday (6 a.m. for those needing more than 6 hours) WHERE Start line at the intersection of President Clinton Boulevard and Sherman Street in downtown Little Rock. Finish line in Riverfront Park behind the River Market.

NOTEWORTHY Field includes Mark Chespes winner of the 2011 and 2012 men’s race, and Leah Thorvilson of Little Rock, winner of the women’s division the past four years.

Little Rock Marathon map, Page 10C.

Sports, Pages 19 on 03/02/2013

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