Chepses, Rotich win Little Rock Marathon

Mark Chepses crossed the finish line to win his third Little Rock Marathon in a row.
Mark Chepses crossed the finish line to win his third Little Rock Marathon in a row.

Mark Chepses has made it three in a row.

Chepses, of West Des Moines, Iowa, captured the 11th running of the Little Rock Marathon on Sunday morning, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:19.51. Hellen Rotich of Austin, Texas, took top honors in the women's race, the second Little Rock Marathon win of her career after a win in 2008, finishing with a time of 2:47.16.

The win is Chepses' third in a row, and bested his winning time in 2012, which he ran in 2:29.42. Rotich topped her 2008 mark of 2:50.33.

The race was run by some 11,000-plus participants in both the marathon and half-marathon events, along with runners in the 10K and 5K events.

Leah Thorvilson, the four-time defending champion in the women's division, began the morning running in the marathon, but a nagging leg injury forced her to change course and finish the race in the half-marathon course. Thorvilson, however, was not named the winner of the half-marathon due to her registering for the full 26.2-mile race.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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Watch runners cross the finish line in the 2013 Little Rock Marathon

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