Nicole Johnson of Duluth ran three minutes faster than she had planned to run. Nicole is the daughter of Bob Johnson, CCHS Class of 1974.
It was no surprise to see Shane Steele far out in front of the field at the Ham Lake Half Marathon.
Steele has a lifetime best of 1:12 for the 13.1-mile distance and at age 27, he’s ready to start training to lower that time. But what was shocking to see was Emma Spoon, age 27, Steele’s girlfriend, looking strong as she crossed the line in 1:26:07.
Emma was 20 seconds ahead of the second male finisher, Dustin Finlayson of Duluth.
“Emma’s a cross country runner. She’s really good on the hills,” noted Steele at the end of the race.
Steele’s winning time was 1:21:57 on this beautiful, May 6 Saturday.
Jay Arrowsmith-DeCoux had a splendid run, coming in two minutes faster than last year and placed fourth overall in 1:27:11.
Other local male finishers included Adam Nelson, Grand Marais, who placed 13th in 1:48:44; Dylan Dragswiek, Grand Marais, placed 21st in 1:53:12; Kevin Sheils, Grand Marais, placed 25th in 2:03:44; Brian Neil, Hovland, placed 29th in 2:20:24.
Above: Happy half marathon champions Emma Spoon and Shane Steele. Left: No one received a better welcome than this half marathon finisher. Her dog chased across the finish line and gave her a lot of excited, sloppy kisses. Left middle: Isaak Lien, age 9, outdueled Emily Breaker in the 5K. Isaak ran 30:53.7. Emily finished three tenths of a second behind him. Far left: Lutsen’s Ali Duclos, age 10, proved she is more than just a champion log roller. Ali ran 30:51 for the 5K.
Jackie Nelson, Grand Marais, was the second woman finisher in 1:37:40. Other local woman runners includes Sheila Brown, Grand Marais, who placed 13th in 2:06:36; Marybeth Wilkes, Grand Marais, who was 16th in 2:10:17; Carmen Anderson, Grand Marais, placed 17th in 2:11:18; Cassidy Bechtold, Grand Marais, was 24th in 2:20:43; and Molly Hicken, Lutsen, placed 31st in 2:31:15.
All told there were 85 entrants in the half marathon, 34 male finishers and 41 female finishers on a beautiful, crisp day, perfect for running. There were 35 runners in the 5K field.
5K results
Allen Davis, age 24 from Melbourne, Iowa won the 5K with a time of 20:13, averaging 6:30-mile pace.
The top local finishers were Levi Axtell, age 21, of Hovland, who placed second in 22:333. Raymond Dressely, 11, Grand Marais, placed third in 25:40; Michael DuVall, 50, Grand Marais, placed fifth in 30:52; Isaak Lien, 9, was sixth in 30:53; Treg Axtell, 51, Hovland, finished seventh in 31:15; and Denny FitzPatrick, 71, Grand Marais, placed eighth in 32:51.
Casey Fitchett, Lutsen, age 27, won the women’s 5K race with a time 22:55, averaging 7:22 per mile.
Other local finishers were, Wendy McCartney, 39, Grand Marais, who was second with a time of 26:49; Rebecca McAllister, 35, Grand Marais, placed fourth in 28:24; Rebecca Wiinanen, 67, Grand Marais, was sixth in 28:24; Rebekah Laky, 22, Grand Marais, finished eighth in 29: 32; Molly O’Neill, 33, Lutsen, came in 10th in 30:12; Ali Duclos, 10, Lutsen, placed 13th in 30:51; Emily Breaker, 30, Lutsen, ran 30:54 and placed 14th; Laura Greenwald, 26, placed 15th in 31:51; and Sara Hingos, Grand Marais, 41, placed 23rd in 43:26.
Sponsored by the Cook County YMCA and supported by more than a dozen local businesses through donations, the Ham Lake Half Marathon and 5K proceeds (after expenses) are used to fund the Community Support Campaign which provides financial assistance for people in the community to participate in Y programs that they couldn’t otherwise afford.
Preliminary results from the 2017 Ham Run show that the race took in about $10,250, said Y Director Emily Marshall. “But we still have a few expenses to take care of before we wrap up so I anticipate it will be closer to $9,000 when all is said and done. The weather was beautiful, the volunteers were amazing, and the racers had a great time.”
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