Thousands of runners crowded city streets Sunday for the 22nd Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, which began at Balboa Park and concluded near Waterfront Park.
In the full marathon, among the men, the top finishers were Bradley Wattleworth, in a time of 2:25:50, followed by Brendan Gee and Brautigam August. For the women, Jennifer Brill led the way, in a time of 2:57:47, followed by Courtney Camden and Sammi Groce.
In the half-marathon, among the men, the top finishers were Bernard Ngeno, in a time of 1:00:08, followed by Cherono Lawrence and Alphonce Simbu. For the women, Rahma Tusa finished on top, in a time of 1:09:08, followed by Mereret Belete and Alice Wright.
A local star re-appeared this year as well. On Saturday, Olympic silver medalist and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi, now retired, ran with family, reported NBC SanDiego.
“It’s great to be back here at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego in Balboa Park — where my high school days were,” he told the station. “To be able to just run the race and see people come across the finish line is awesome.”
Sprinkled throughout the 26-mile course are fans, volunteers, and even musicians to keep the runners motivated, according to the station. In addition, a larger police presence was evident.
During last year’s marathon, a woman was taken into custody after pointing a pellet gun at police within two blocks of the finish line, though the incident was unrelated to the race.
For this year’s race, people saw “a lot more uniform officers,” San Diego Police Department Lt. Shawn Takeuchi told NBC San Diego.
“There will be resources that the public won’t see,” he added. “We keep that a secret because we don’t want the bad guys to know where they are.”
– Staff reports