Heavy Rains Don’t Stop Runners Taking Part In Half-Marathon

They ran the 13.1-mile route through Frederick.

 

Frederick, Md (KM) Runners from 35 states, the District of Columbia and Canada ran in the pouring rain in Frederick on Sunday. Organizers say an estimated 4500 people took part in the half-marathon, which began on East Patrick Street in front of the Fairgrounds, and ended at the Grandstand.

Louis Levine was the first to cross the finish line. He’s originally from Frederick, but lives in Baltimore. Levine says the rain didn’t help, but he had a race to finish. He called it a fair course which “loops around the city.

The course takes runners past Harry Grove Stadium, into the downtown and through Baker Park, and past Hood College.

The top female finisher was Annie Noffsinger, whose also originally from Frederick, but lives in Portland, Oregon. She said she felt “really good” about her win. Noffsinger says the rain help cool her off while running.

This the 17th year for the Half-Marathon, which is 13.1-miles. It originally started out as a marathon which is 26.2-miles.

Corrigan Sports Enterprises, which puts on the event, says the Frederick Running Festival has a $3.5-million-dollar impact on the local economy, as runners and their families and supportersĀ  eat, sleep and shop while visitingĀ  the Frederick area, and leave behind some of their money. “And we don’t have to educate their kids,” says Richard Griffin, the city’s Director of Economic Development. .

 

By Kevin McManus