Just before the weather breaks and becomes bitterly cold with 30 mile per hour winds, we got the Outer Banks Marathon in yesterday. And the weather was a close to perfect as it could have been.
There were actually two long distance races on the Outer Banks on Sunday. The Outer Banks Marathon linking Kitty Hawk with Manteo and the Southern Fried Half Marathon that begins at Jockeys Ridge.
Both races end in downtown Manteo, which is not a bad place to end a 13 or 26 mile race.
There was almost no wind during the race. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures never quite got to 60 degrees. With the races beginning at 7:00 in the morning, conditions truly were close to ideal.
There were over 550 marathon runners this year. The half marathon attracted around three times that number. That's been a trend for a while, that in longer distances the half marathon has been gaining in popularity.
In the men's division Byan Morseman from Bath, NY and Harrison Kirigwi really seemed to fight for the lead the whole way. Morseman won with a winning time of 2:28. Kirgwi finshed about two minutes behind him. The next finisher didn't cross the finish line until 11 minutes later.
In the women's division Jaqueline Alnes won with a time of 3:07:09.
The Marathons course especially is a beautiful tour of the Outer Banks. Over heard from a marathon runner as she passed Kitty Hawk Bay: "What is this body of water? It's beautiful."
Which may be why runners keep coming back.
Is it time for a romantic week on the Outer Banks? Or maybe a holiday getaway with the family. Whatever the plans may bee a stay with Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates is the perfect place to begin.
