Carmel Marathon Weekend Celebrates Growth and New Beginnings
New date, course bring success to 2018 event
CARMEL, Ind. (April 4, 2018) – Event organizers for the eighth annual Carmel Marathon Weekend presented by Franciscan Health are celebrating the growth and success of the event, held on Saturday, March 31. More than 4,000 participants took to the streets of Carmel, Ind.for the Carmel Marathon, Carmel Half Marathon, Indiana Spine Group 8K and Indiana Members Credit Union 5K. The field of runners and walkers, representing 43 states and four countries, represents the largest to date for the event despite forceful winds and a forecast for rain.
More than 1,000 runners crossed the finish line of the full marathon, a 64 percent increase from the event in 2017. Fifty-one percent of the participants in the full marathon traveled to Indiana for the event. The half marathon saw an eleven percent increase in finishers, with almost 1,800 at the finish.
“It was definitely a risk to move our date forward a few weeks, but it’s safe to say it paid off for ‘Carmel Marathon 2.0’,” said Todd Oliver, Race Director and President of Carmel Road Racing Group. “The increase we saw this was directly related to the new date on the calendar. We know this because of this large increase in out of state runners attending. The weather cooperated and runners enjoyed our new course. We had 22.5% of our marathoners run a BQ time which breaks last year’s record of 21.2%. We are definitely getting a reputation of being a fast spring marathon. I have to thank our volunteers, sponsors, event partners,police and the entire city of Carmel for helping make this race a success.”
Overall champions of the Carmel Marathon Weekend are listed below. Full results for all events are available at CarmelMarathon.com.
Carmel Marathon
Scott Leslie (Rutland, Mass.) 2:24:46
Kelby Laughner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 2:48:51
Carmel Half Marathon
Japhet Kipkoech (Louisville, Ky.) 1:05:40
Rachael Brewer (Tuscola, Ill.) 1:18:28
Indiana Spine Group 8K
John Mascari (Terre Haute, Ind.) 23:59
Katie Kerr (Zionsville, Ind.) 30:13
Indiana Members Credit Union 5K
Gordy Aiken (Carmel, Ind.) 17:09
Paige Woods (Indianapolis, Ind.) 19:37
2-Person Marathon Relay
The Arnolds (Carmel, Ind.) 4:09:41
4-Person Marathon Relay
Meshingomesia Track Club (Noblesville, Ind.) 2:41:47
Multi-year marathon winner, current full marathon course record holder and past half marathon champion Jesse Davis of Indianapolis also broke the unofficial world record for pushing a wheelchair in the half marathon. He finished the Carmel Half Marathon in 1:19:23 along with Joseph Maley Foundation athlete Kiara Lee.
The Carmel Marathon Weekend also hosted the 2018 RRCA Indiana Marathon Championship. Results:
Open (all ages)
Scott Leslie (Rutland, Mass.) 2:24:46
Kelby Laughner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 2:48:51
Masters (ages 40-49)
Travis Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.) 2:57:19
Norma Janine Britton (Hammond, Ind.) 3:08:18
Grand masters (ages 50-59)
Thomas Lentz (Cincinnati, Ohio) 2:41:36
Rachel Parrella (Sellersburg, Ind.) 3:28:59
Senior grand masters (ages 60-plus)
Ian Stewart (Zionsville, Ind.) 3:24:09
Kim Massa (Saint Joseph, Mich.) 4:29:04
The ninth annual Carmel Marathon Weekend will be held on March 30th, 2019.
About the Carmel Road Racing Group: The Carmel Road Racing Group (CRRG) is a running event company based in Carmel, Indiana. Our signature events include the Carmel Marathon Weekend in March, Indy Polar Bear in February,8-Hour Endurance Race in July, Indy Women’s Half Marathon & 5K in September and Donut 5K in December. CRRG also manages conference 5K events for non-profit membership and trade associations. Throughout the last 10 years, CRRG has planned and executed 5K run/walks in 12 states. Please visit CarmelRoadRacingGroup.com for more information.
