Motivations vary for entrants in smaller race

Low-profile footraces such as the Jacob Wells 3 Bridges Marathon are typically won by people who enter with other objectives.

They understand winning might come as a by-product of their primary pursuit, but it isn't why they show up.

Brian Post, 37, of Atlanta -- who won the men's division of the fifth annual 3 Bridges Marathon in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 12.54 seconds at Little Rock's Two Rivers Park on Saturday -- began the race with a far-flung, long-range goal in mind. Tia Stone, 39, of Searcy finished first among women in 3:12:31.79 but started in the cold of wintertime daybreak intent to pace a friend.

Shane Poland, 33, of Vilonia finished second among men in 3:00:52.01. Dustin Benson, 41, was third in 3:01:36.24. Stone's friend Natalie Ragsdale, 37, of Pangburn finished second in the women's division in 3:14:06.90. Abrena Rine, 35, was third in 3:19:17.57.

Post, an airline pilot, said Arkansas became the 24th state in which he has finished a marathon in under three hours. He hopes to do the same in the remaining 26.

"I like the small ones like this a lot," Post said. "You lose a lot of the hassle of larger races. They're a lot more personable. You've got your big ones, which have a lot of excitement, but these are nice. You don't have to put up with as much."

No more than 389 entrants have finished a 3 Bridges Marathon.

Post and Poland ran together through the first few miles before Post pulled away. Poland had Post in sight late, but hamstring cramps in both legs with less than a half-mile to run stopped whatever chance he had to catch the winner.

Stone's victory was her third consecutive, but an injury and illness limited her training through the fall. She considered the race a training effort for the Little Rock Marathon in March and an opportunity to help pace Ragsdale.

"I came out with a mindset to just pace Natalie," Stone said. "I hadn't done any 20-mile runs, so I wasn't ready for a marathon. I made the decision to just make this a workout and just go 20 miles. I was running with her, and I didn't want to stop. I was feeling good. I was with her at 25, and right after that, she said, 'Go on. Go on,' so I just kicked it in the last mile. This was a very different marathon for me, but I love this race."

Stone, on staff at Harding University, spoke about Wells' impact.

"He just reached out to everyone," she said.

Poland, a production engineer who works in Conway, also began the race with a hope to break three hours but said he compromised his chance with a burst of enthusiasm near the halfway point.

"I was feeling good," Poland said. "I just started speeding up because I was feeling great. At about 5 miles from the end, I think I was on about a 2:55 pace, and then I just started slowing down."

Cramps near the finished his chance.

"Both hamstrings cramped up coming up this bridge right here," he said. "I could see the finish line, both legs cramped, and I had to just stop. It took me a minute or two, and then I could walk until I got to the top of the bridge and then finally run it out."

The 3 Bridges race, founded by Jacob Wells, is named for the Two Rivers Bridge near the start-finish line; the Big Dam Bridge, about 2 miles east on the course; and the Clinton Presidential Bridge, the course's easternmost turnaround.

Wells directed the first 3 Bridges race Dec. 28, 2013, but collapsed and died of cardiac arrest during the Midsouth Marathon in Wynne on Nov. 1, 2014.

Friends and associates of Wells, who had become prominent in the central Arkansas running community, made sure the race endured his death.

Sports on 12/17/2017