Jobes wins 3rd title, Scranton-area man breaks tape at 2010 St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon
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Record number of finishers highlights race’s 25th running; Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s 5k race draws 451 participants
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (April 25, 2010) – It may have been the silver anniversary for the St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, but it provided golden moments for two winners as well as thousands of finishers who realized their own goals and aspirations on the 13.1-mile course.
More than 3,200 runners – besting last year’s 3,093 – crossed the finish line on a cloudy, cool and damp Sunday in Allentown. Steady early-morning rain showers abated by the 8 a.m. start of the half marathon and stayed at bay for most of the race.
Kathleen Jobes, Bethlehem, Pa., captured her third women’s title in five years with a time of 1:18:44, matching her winning time from 2006. (She clocked a 1:17:34 in her 2007 victory.) Jobes, who ran in the U.S. Olympic qualifier for the marathon in 2008, said she used today’s half marathon as part of her training cycle with the intent to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials again this fall. The 40-year-old said she received outstanding support from the crowd during her victorious run.
“I compete in races all over the place, but nothing is like running in your hometown,” she said. “People in the Valley are among the nicest, most supportive people. They’re my biggest supporters. When you’re running down Martin Luther King and they cheer for you, your heart just pumps. I’m proud to be from the Lehigh Valley no matter what race I go to.”
Meanwhile, men’s winner Kevin Borrelli, 28, Throop, Pa., finished in 1:08:49, nearly a minute ahead of last year’s champion, Ramon Laboy III, 27, Bethlehem, Pa., who at 1:09:46 was even faster than his 2009 finish in 1:10:33. Borrelli, coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams at Marywood College, said he found his best stride in the middle miles of the race along the crushed-stone trails in Lehigh Parkway.
“When I got onto the trail (Saturday) to check out the course, the hills seemed a little overwhelming,” said Borrelli, whose time was a personal record in the half marathon by nearly a minute. “But when I raced, they were some of my fastest miles. I was pretty excited about it.”
Rounding out the top finishers in the women’s race were Kelly Ciravolo, 30, Shavertown, Pa., 1:22:16; Amy Grab, 31, Allentown, Pa., 1:24:11; Joanna Horstmann, 24, Carlisle, Pa., 1:25:17 ; and Jenna Papaz, 27, Bethlehem, Pa., 1:26:35.
After Borrelli and Laboy, the top male finishers were Ian Walsh, 24, Slatington, Pa., 1:11:47; Nick Birosik, 26, Easton, Pa., 1:14:55; and David Biko, 33, Abington, Pa., 1:15:44.
This year marked the race’s first as the St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, as the regional healthcare network partnered with the race to promote active lifestyles and healthy living. It was the 25th time that the half marathon race has been run in the Lehigh Valley, with its legacy dating back to 1977.
The St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon field represented 30 states and three countries. They converged in Allentown for the largest single-day athletic event in the Lehigh Valley. The course – altered slightly in 2010 because of a bridge closure on Ott Street – took runners along city streets, Cedar Beach and Lehigh Parkway, showcasing Allentown’s treasured parks system.
The companion Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s 5k race was won by Evan Neft, 28, Warrington, Pa., in 17:23, just beating out 2009 winner Steve Dotson, 48, Macungie, Pa., who at 17:33 was just one second off last year’s time. Kelly Curry, 27, Allentown, won the women’s title in 20:07.
The Lehigh Valley Road Runners (LVRR), a not-for-profit running club, produced the events with the help of more than 600 volunteers.
Proceeds from the St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon weekend benefit the LVRR’s youth fitness programs, which last year helped more than 2,200 Lehigh Valley children take part in a running activity. It’s projected that the race helped raise more than $30,000 in 2010. In fact, the proceeds helped support the Kids Run on Saturday, April 24, in downtown Allentown. Nearly 1,200 children aged 3-14 participated in the event, many taking their first steps toward a lifetime of fitness.
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