Registration set to open Tuesday, Nov. 15 for 15th running of the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon and series events
AKRON, Ohio (Nov. 10, 2016) – The Akron Marathon Charitable Corporation announced today that Israel Merkle and Becki Spellman claimed top honors in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively, after accumulating the greatest number of points in the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series.
Nearly 1,500 runners took part in all three legs of the series, which began in June with the National Interstate 8k & 1 mile. It continued with the August running of the Goodyear Half Marathon & 10k, before culminating in September with the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon & Team Relay. Points and monetary awards were distributed based on placing and distances run.
“It’s great to see the growth of the series from the first year and we are thrilled to have two of our best local runners on top of the standings,” said Akron Marathon Race Director Brian Polen. “It’s pretty amazing that we’ve had more than 20,000 participants each of the first two years of the series, and we are confident our 15-year celebration in 2017 will only attract more runners.”
Merkle garnered the men’s title with three consistent performances, finishing third in the 8k, fourth in the half marathon and third in the full marathon. On the women’s side, Spellman turned in a dominating performance, winning all three of her races in the series (8k, half marathon, full marathon). She previously won the Akron Marathon in 2011.
Charles Novak and Teresa Ferguson finished atop the masters series standings.
More information on the awards and the scoring system, including age group awards, can be found at /race-series/results/series-scoring/.
Registration for 2017 will open next Tuesday (Nov. 15). Organizers are anticipating a sellout for September’s marquee event due to the 15-year celebration. Anyone registering within the first 24 hours will be entered into a raffle to win one of 15 prizes, including five pairs of shoes courtesy of Vertical Runner and ten 15-year commemorative CamelBak water bottles.
The 2017 race dates for the third running of the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series are as follows: June 24 (National Interstate 8k & 1 Mile), Aug. 12 (Goodyear Half Marathon & 10k) and Sept. 23 (FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon, Team Relay & Kids Fun Run). The dates were developed to help guide runners through a typical training schedule.