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 include:
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 Monumentalmarathon.com.
To learn more about the Franciscan St. Francis Sports Medicine program, go to Stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=54. You can view photos of the 2012 IMM on Facebook and local media coverage at Facebook.com/FranciscanStFrancisHealth.
