Wednesday, September 26th, 2018
Grand Lake Marathon set for Saturday
New winner expected
By Colin Foster
Photo by Ryan Snyder/The Daily Standard
The 2018 Grand Lake Marathon will follow the same path around the lake as last year's did. Full marathon runners will run counter-clockwise around the lake. The half marathon will start in St. Marys and end in Celina. Roads will reopen after the runners have passed. Times noted at select locations on the map tell when the first runner is expected to pass that spot and when that location is expected to reopen to traffic.
CELINA - The 2018 Grand Lake Marathon doesn't have any major changes to the course or event structure.
What will change this year, however, is the race champion.
Two-time winners Jason Barhorst and Justin Gillette aren't signed up to compete, so barring any last-minute registrations, it looks like a safe bet that a new winner will emerge.
"It's up for grabs this year," race co-director Ryan King said.
Activities for the fifth annual event are set to commence at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The day also includes a 5K race, a half marathon, a half and full marathon relay, a seniors' marathon and a kids' run.
King and his wife, Amanda, co-owners of the Piqua-based Can't Stop Running Co., are in their third year of organizing the event. Ryan King said the participant numbers are on par with last year's, when 1,200 runners descended on the Grand Lake region.
Last year was the first in which marathoners ran the newly designed course, which sent them around the lake counter-clockwise to get the hardest parts of the race out of the way sooner. All races will finish on Lake Shore Drive in Celina, and road closure times will remain the same.
"The course is the same as last year," Ryan King said. '"That went pretty well and we're sticking with it. It was liked by the participants and worked well with all the jurisdictions that were involved."
One small change to the event's slate this year is the newly formatted kids' run, which will be a timed mile rather than an incremental marathon as it had been in the past. That race will begin at 1 p.m.
"That's probably one of the biggest changes," King said. "The rest of it is a lot of the same and just trying to continue to dial in and improve a few things and just keep getting better at it and keep making it a positive experience for everyone."
Bruns Construction Enterprises has taken the lead role in sponsorship for the event. Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices, Grand Lake Health and Community Sports & Therapy have also helped immensely in making operations run smoothly.
"There's no doubt that the event wouldn't happen without Bruns," Ryan King said. "Bruns is both involved in the start line and the finish line, out on the course and, of course, financially they're our biggest sponsor.
"One thing that is a little bit different this year is we were trying to add some more water stops and to have a little more substances on the course," he added. "Popsicles went over really well last year, because it was hot. But we're also trying to add oranges and different foods on the course. Grand Lake Health has really stepped up in a big way and has become our on-course support sponsor."
Gillette won the first two marathons but hasn't competed since. Barhorst swept the last two races, having won last year's in a time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 37.3 seconds on a scorching hot, late September morning. Gillette still holds the marathon record with a time of 2:40:12 in 2014.
Registration for all events is open until 11:59 p.m. today. To sign-up, visit grandlakemarathon.com.
