Engle, Sweet Capture Wins In 2011 Amica Marathon

Charles Engle, 40, was the winner of Sunday's Amica Marathon. Engle of Coos Bay, Oregon, completed the scenic 26.2-mile course in 2:36:51 to earn his 124^th marathon victory.

“I absolutely love to run,” said Engle. “I run about a marathon a week. People think I’m crazy. But I think people that sit on the couch are crazy.”

Engle, who works for Marathonguide.com, was pleased overall with his performance.

“I was hoping to do about 2:34, 2:35 today, but the wind didn’t allow that,” he said. “I started putting in some pretty good miles. When I was about mile 20 someone said I had it by eight minutes. At 20 (miles) the wind was pretty tough…but I’m not going to say it was everything because we had a good tail win earlier on and that really helped out. I got lost in the scenery. I won’t blame the wind, the sun or the heat. I’ll blame the scenery for taking my breath away. The course was absolutely beautiful. It was an awesome day and an awesome race.”

Barrington’s Michael Meehan was the runner-up and top Rhode Island finisher.  Meehan, the track coach at Barrington High School, crossed the finish line under clear skies at Easton’s Beach in 2:51:40.

Rachel Sweet, 26, of Rochester, N.Y. was the top female. The SUNY Cortland graduate recorded her first-ever marathon victory a winning time of 3:05:44. She defeated last year’s Amica Marathon winner Michelle Gosselin, of Providence, who placed runner up this year in 3:11:05.

“This was a beautiful, beautiful course,” said Sweet. “My goal was to go out there and win and run for a good cause.”

Sweet’s coach Matt Moran lost his dad, Kerry Moran, to traumatic brain injury. Sweet and several others formed team “KJM” and ran in his memory and to raise awareness for traumatic brain injury.

Scott Leslie, 30, of Rutland, MA, took the crown in the UnitedHealthcare Half Marathon in 1:14.01.

“I had a very good race,” said Leslie, the winner of the Cox Sports Marathon at the 2010 Cox Providence Rhode Races. “ The course was very scenic and flat for the most part. I used this race as a test barometer to see how my training is going for an upcoming marathon that I will be doing in two weeks. I’m happy with the way I ran today.”

Cumberland’s Jason Reilly, 28, finished second in the 13.1-mile race. He was clocked at 1:14:50.

Alanna Hollborn, 23, of Islip Terrace NY and Sweet’s KJM and former Cortland teammate, won her first half marathon on Sunday. She crossed the finish line first among the women competing today in the UnitedHealthcare Half Marathon race in 1:20.38. Meghan Fillnow of Charlotte, NC finished as the runner-up in 1:26:15.

 “We were running for our coach’s dad and to raise awareness for a traumatic brain injury. It was a good day,” said Hollborn.

Geralyn Hoffman and Larry Ducady won each other’s hearts after the race. The couple from Cumberland got married after crossing the finish line at the Amica Marathon. Hoffman wore a white tennis skirt and veil and Ducady sported a t-shirt with a picture of a tuxedo shirt on the front. Members of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training, both Hoffman and Ducady have lost loved ones to cancer. In lieu of weddings gifts, the couple asked friends and family to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Former  also was among the participants. Kruger lost 129 pounds and was the runner-up when he competed on the NBC show in 2008. The Amica Marathon marked Kruger’s second 26.2-mile race in a seven-day span. Kruger finished in 3:52:21.

“Today was a great race,” said Kruger. “Terrific running weather, awesome volunteers and a challenging and well designed course…throw that together with 5,000 runners and the result was an unbelievable Amica Marathon.”

Nearly 5,000 runners participated in the event, which featured the Amica Marathon and UnitedHealthcare Half Marathon and Team Relay. Runners, who ranged in age from 14 to 88, came from as far away as Australia to compete in the event.