Walkway races: Spencer wins the marathon!

Of all the races, obviously the marathon caused us the most concern with potential for heat-related problems. Recent alum Spencer Johnson handled it wonderfully in his marathon debut, with an inspiring and stirring victory by nearly 20 minutes. The roar of the crowd as he came down the finishing stretch was truly special. Spencer shared with me his splits, which were pretty good. He followed the pre-race strategy of taking the first 5-6 miles comfortable before settling into a faster pace. Once he got rolling in the middle miles, he did great. As most of us do, he struggled in the latter stages, but he was able to rally and get a sub-2:40, which is a great way to start his 26.2-mile racing career.

Marathon

1-Spencer Johnson (alum/rising grad student) 2:39:32 (overall champion)

Mile 1: 6:04
Mile 2: 6:12
Mile 3: 6:11
Mile 4: 6:27
Mile 5: 6:05
Mile 6: 6:08
Mile 7: 6:06
Mile 8: 5:57
Mile 9: 5:48

Mile 10: 6:09
Mile 11: 6:10
Mile 12: 5:56
Mile 13: 5:56
Mile 14: 5:57
Mile 15: 5:57
Mile 16: 5:44
Mile 17: 5:37
Mile 18: 5:42
Mile 19: 5:46
Mile 20: 6:00
Mile 21: 6:05
Mile 22: 5:56
Mile 23: 6:18 *dropped my gel pack and turned around to get it
Mile 24: 6:14
Mile 25: 6:27
Mile 26: 6:11
0.31=1:57

Other Marist Running finishers

6-Henry Pratt (philosophy professor) 3:19:44 (second in M40-44 division)

11-David Swift (alum) 3:28:52

22-John Mckee (alum) 3:43:30