INDIANAPOLIS – Thousands
of runners and walkers took to the city streets Nov. 3 for the fifth running of
the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and Half Marathon (IMM). And when the dust
settled a few hours later, Aleksey Alexandrov of Hebron, Ky., was the first to
cross the finish line
With sunrise yet to
break, near-freezing temperatures and swirly breeze, runners and walkers from
45 states and nine foreign countries stepped off with a thumping hip-hop tune
blaring in the background.
“This is runners’
weather,” said IMM Executive Director Blake Boldon, as the designated elite
runners began their pace. “When the sun comes up, they will hit their stride.”
Indeed, nearly 11,000 of them – a record number of participants for the IMM.
The winners and their
times:
MARATHON (Men)
Aleksey Alexandrov
(2:18:44)
MARATHON (Women)
Whitney
Bevins-Lazzara, Indianapolis (2:45:23)
HALF MARATHON (Men)
Jason Ordway,
Bellbrook, Ohio (1:04:24)
HALF MARATHON(Women)
Irina Alexandrova,
Hebron, Ky. (1:15:20)
WHEELCHAIR
Paul Erway, Shelbyville,
Ky. (2:58:16)
Local luminaries were
on hand to greet the participants before the starter’s gun sounded: Mayor Greg
Ballard, St. Francis Health President and CEO Robert Brody, Indianapolis Public
Schools Superintendent Eugene White, IMM President/Founder Carlton Ray, IMM
Executive Director Blake Boldon, and IMM Honorary Chair Bob Kennedy, a former
marathon runner for the U.S. Olympics team.
The IMM, whose title
sponsor is Franciscan St. Francis Health, continues to spark heightened interest
in the world-wide running community. The
record number of participants this year more than quadruples the number who
signed up for the inaugural 2008 race.
Franciscan St.
Francis Health had more than 100 volunteers assisting in a variety of ways,
most notably a team of physicians, nurses and other health professionals with
the St. Francis Sports Medicine Program.
And it takes a
monumental effort to organize an event like IMM. Overseeing that task was The
Tuxedo Brothers, a local sporting events management company, operated by
brothers Don and Phil Carr.
The IMM’s urban courses are sanctioned and
certified by the standards of USA Track and Field, the national body of road
racing. The marathon course also serves as a qualifier for the 2013 Boston
Marathon.
Proceeds
from this year’s race, like previously years, will support local public
education with the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation as the
largest beneficiary. More than $280,000 has been donated since the race’s
founding in 2008.
For the final results
and other information about the 2012 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, go to www.monumentalmarathon.com.
To learn more about
the Franciscan St. Francis Sports Medicine program, go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=54.
You can view photos
of the 2012 IMM on Facebook and local media coverage at https://www.facebook.com/FranciscanStFrancisHealth
