Hundreds of runners laced up their shoes Saturday morning and hit the streets in and around Abilene. The Dickinson County community came together to host the 13th running of the Eisenhower Marathon.

The event included a men’s and women’s marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K races. There was also a family fun walk.

There was a mix of new faces, and familiar faces, bringing home the gold.

Scott Downard of Norman, Oklahoma, won the men’s marathon in a race record time of 2:30.29. This was his first time running the event.

The women’s winner was Katie Kramer-Ochoa, with a time of 3:12:34.  She set the race record as 2012 champ and was 3rd last year.

Brandon Hatch of Chanute won the men’s half-marathon. He is currently a senior at Southwestern College in Winfield, where he runs track and cross country. His time was 1:16:23.

Maize High School graduate Sydney Roy won the women’s half-marathon with a time of 1:31:02. She is a sophomore at Friends University, where she runs track and cross country. Her time was good enough to qualify her to run at the NAIA National Championship. Roy’s college coach, and a couple of her teammates, were supporting her along the route.

Other winners include:

Men’s 10K – Brandon Schroeter of McPherson with a time of 40:25. He also won last year.
Women’s 10K – Bobbie Thomas of Salina with a time of 47:58.

Men’s 5K – Daniel Craig of Gypsum with a time of 16:33.  He is a 4-time marathon champ. Craig ran the 5K this year as a training run in preparation for his first Boston Marathon on April 20th.
Women’s 5K –   Lyn Blubaugh of Madison with a time of 26:49.

Organizer June DeWeese says that over 500 runners participated. She credits a dedicated group of volunteers to making the event, which is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon, a success.