First time running a marathon? No problem.
Willy Fink, 30, of Gaithersburg, and Sara Kenefick, 23, of Charlotte, North Carolina, won the men’s and women’s marathon at the 2024 Baltimore Running Festival on Saturday.
The pair finished the race in 2 hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds and 3:03:42, respectively. Fink opened up a significant lead over the rest of the pack about 90 minutes in and finished eight minutes ahead of the next-closest runner. Alexander Loper of Abingdon (2:29:50) and Louis Levine of Arlington, Virginia, (2:31:14) finished second and third, respectively, in the men’s marathon, while Simiao Li of Princeton, New Jersey, (3:07:10) and Michelle Johnston of Dayton, Ohio, (3:07:50) followed Kenefick in the women’s race.
The Baltimore Running Festival marathon, which included slight tweaks this year to the path, such as a new turn at Light and Pratt streets and a detour by Lake Montebello to avoid an ongoing sinkhole repair, is internationally certified allowing runners to use their results to qualify for other races such as the Boston Marathon.
Runners participating in the 24th annual festival enjoyed clear skies and chilly temperatures that warmed up by late morning. With roads from downtown Baltimore to Fells Point closed off for the 5K, 10K, half-marathon and full marathon races, the 26.2-mile trek began outside Camden Yards and ended on Pratt Street between Charles and Light streets.
Fink, a member of Under Armour’s distance pro team, suffered a partially torn Achilles tendon in March but returned to competitive racing three months later. Kenefick recently graduated from Penn, where she was an accomplished gymnast who received a slew of accolades for her performances in floor, vault, beam and all-around competitions.
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