USA Cross Country champion Laura Thweatt of Boulder dominated the women’s race at the 15th annual Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half-Marathon. Thweatt won by more than seven minutes on Sunday, September 6 at the race, which was held in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The sea level course is mostly flat and produces fast times. The women’s course record stands at 1:09:17 by Margaret Okayo of Kenya in 2003.
Thweatt told organizers she stayed focused by keying on groups of men up ahead of her. “I kept on trucking. The crowds and the course were awesome,” she said.
Former Auburn All-American Elkanah Kibet won the men’s race over Boulder’s Jeffrey Eggleston. Eggleston, who did not finish at the IAAF World Championships Marathon, was trying shake off his bad experience in Beijing.
“I had a disappointing performance there,” Eggleston said. “I went out a little over my head in Beijing. I was in search of a breakthrough and didn’t go out conservative, so I was looking for a rebound here in Virginia Beach to defend my title. I put in all this hard work over the summer, and it’s never easy. You got to respect the race, and you got to respect the competition.”
There were 8,443 total finishers at the half marathon, which was up from 7,750 last year.
MEN (gun times) –
1. Elkanah Kibet, 32, Airfield, NC (KEN) 1:05:22
2. Jeffrey Eggleston, 30, Boulder, CO 1:06:01
3. Isaiah Bragg, 23, Xenia, OH 1:09:25
4. Matt Hensley, 27, Boulder, CO 1:10:09
5. Jaiden Brandt, 24, Lynchburg, VA 1:11:00
6. Christopher Sloane, 32, Gaithersburg, MD 1:11:29
WOMEN (gun times) –
1. Laura Thweatt, 26, Boulder, CO 1:12:59
2. Yuko Wantanabe, 27, JPN 1:20:13
3. Natalie Lawrence, 33, Kernersville, NC 1:21:18
4. Amanda Scott, 27, Boulder, CO 1:22:59
5. Carter Norbo, 25, Charlottesville, VA 1:23:17
6. Molly Nunn, 31, Winston Salem, NC 1:24:27
7. Teresa Allman, 39, Virginia Beach, VA 1:25:35