Eight Abington Residents Compete In Philadelphia Marathon

After unseasonable warmth on Saturday, a wintry chill and cold winds welcomed thousands of runners to the Philadelphia Marathon early Sunday morning. And it turned out to be ideal running conditions: not only did men's winner Kimutai Cheruiyot, of Ethiopia, break the course record, but the next three runners across the tape came in under the previous best, too.

Cheruiyot, who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, edged out New Mexico native Jacob Chemtai by six seconds to win in 2:15:53. The previous course record from 2003 was 2:16:43.

On the women's side, Alabama resident and 26-year-old Taylor Ward ran 2:36:24 for the victory in her first ever try at the distance.

The marathon course tours through many of the city's major landmarks. It starts and ends at the Art Museum, running through Center City down to Old City, heading south along the Delaware River, looping up along the edge of south Philly into University City, touring past the Philadelphia Zoo and Mann Center, before coming down onto the river and going out and back to Manayunk for the final 13 miles.

Locally, a total of eight Abington residents competed in the event.

They were led by Brian Merrick, who ran 3:50:36. Full local results, ordered alphabetically, are included below. The first number represents the official chip time, tracking a runner from the moment they cross the start line. The second number is the clock time, which starts the moment the gun goes off.

• Andrew Hollister M 39 Abington, PA 4:07:02 4:07:38
• Anthony Rufo M 24 Abington, PA 4:46:22 4:46:45
• Brian Merrick M 43 Abington, MA 3:50:36 3:50:45
• Heather Mager F 35 Abington, PA 4:52:05 4:53:09
• Joshua Kim M 35 Abington, PA 5:18:37 5:22:34
• Kelly Hood F 31 Abington, PA 4:58:05 5:02:02
• Rebecca King F 32 Abington, PA 5:47:06 5:47:43
• Stephen McFadden M 30 Abington, PA 4:41:15 4:41:28

Sunday marked the 23rd official year of one of the region's iconic road races. The race has existed in different forms dating back decades, but has been organized formally by the city since 1993. A half marathon and 8k were also run on Saturday.

For full results, see the Philadelphia Marathon page here.

Patch file photo.