Cusack, Anderson rule 2013 uFM Riyadh Marathon

The uFM Riyadh Marathon took place early last Friday morning. The charity event, which was organized by the Riyadh Road Runners and hosted by the Dirab Golf and Country Club, was in support of SANAD, a local Saudi charity dedicated to supporting children’s cancer centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This year’s sponsors are Body Masters, Carrefour Le Mall, and NasAir among others. At approximately 6:30, on the relatively cool March morning, over 250 runners and guests came together to join in the race day activities.
The club’s longest standing and oldest member, Claes Spong, serving as the honorary starter, sent the runners off with the blow of his whistle. Thirty-five individual marathoners began the race with another 40 individuals representing the over 40 teams that participated in the race. The overall race leader changed several times throughout the race which consisted of 6 laps of 7 kilometers each.
Padraig Cusack, with a perfectly strategized place, came from behind during the final two laps to win the race with a time of 3:20:08. He was followed by Bengt Lofgren with a time of 3:35:15. After leading the initial 4 laps, Gary McGregor, fell to 3rd place with a time of 3:36:12. In 4th place was Scott McIvor with a time of 3:38:06. John-Paul O’Shea finished in a time of 3:40:08 to round out the top five.
On the women’s side, newly arrived American Adriana Anderson led from the start. She finished the 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles) with a time of 3:41:07. Behind her there was a tight competition for 2nd place with Kerstin Kick finally taking the lead over 3rd place finisher Liz Rourke. Kerstin finished in 4:11:01 with Liz only 24 seconds behind with a time of 4:11:25. Topping off the top 4 was veteran marathon runner Margo Benning competing in her second marathon of the year. Her time was an impressive 4:33:34. Temperatures climbed quickly, forcing several of the individual runners to drop out before finishing. With over 40 teams participating, the timekeepers had their hands full keeping track of all of the different runners. Teams consisted of 2 to 6 runners. In first place was JP Berthiaux and his daughter Naelle with a time of 3:28:28. They were closely followed by the 3-person team of Eric Rettien, Romain Delbecq, and Pierre Delbecq. They finished the event in 3:29:45. The 3rd place team finished about 4 minutes behind with a time of 3:33:53. Team 3 was made up of 6 runners from Fitness First: Chris Laas, Stephan Jeljalane, Mike Downing, Cris Abalos, Majid Al Hada, and Mahmoud Jabali.
Following the race, there was an awarding ceremony and luncheon provided by Carrefour Le Mall which donated all of the food and drinks for the lunch as well as all of the water and Gatorade that kept the runners hydrated throughout the marathon.
Anderson, the overall women’s winner, said: “During the race, I tried to use the volunteer’s and spectator’s energy to fuel my motivation to keep on running, smiling and moving forward. It is all about having the right attitude and making the most out of every situation. No matter what, have fun, do your best and finish the race happy and healthy. That is always my main point.”
Sara Almodaimigh, participant and Kore Studios representative, said that it was a “great and successful event. On behalf of myself and my team, we’re so proud we were part of it!”
Mukhtar Murtaza, the race director, said “Over the past few years, this event has continue to grow and attract new runners. This year’s turnout was the highest in the history of the marathon. We would like to thank all of the sponsors including uFM, Body Masters, Carrefour Le Mall, and KORE Studios who made this possible. This event has helped raise SR 20,000 over the past few years for SANAD and their efforts to assist children with cancer and their families. All of us on the club feel privileged to be a part of such a wonderful cause.” For more information about running in Riyadh and complete marathon results please visit the Riyadh Road Runners website at: www.riyadhroadrunners.com.
For more information regarding SANAD check them out online at: http://www.sanad.org.sa/en/