BROOKINGS – Cory Logsdon overcame warm and breezy conditions and bettered the field at the 48th annual Brookings Marathon on Saturday.
The 29-year-old Omaha, Neb., resident finished in a time of 2 hours, 46 minutes, 9.11 seconds to win by more than 12 minutes.
“The conditions were pretty rough out there – a little warm, a little windy – but I couldn’t ask for a better support crew out there,” said Logsdon, a Team Nebraska member since 2011. “Certainly, the bikers kind of kept me in check for most of it, tried to keep me in a positive mindset all the way through.”
Logsdon grabbed the lead early and was never really challenged.
He had a unique experience later in the race.
“One of my favorite parts of the race was right around Mile 16-18,” he noted. “A kid was trying to hand me off a water and I ended up kind of clipping it and it slid off. About 200 meters down the road, the next thing I hear is this pitter-patter sprinting up from behind me. He’s like ‘I got you, bud, I got you;’ and he hands me the water right in my hand right there. That just shows the great support that’s out here; they’re really just trying to make sure that athletes are hydrated and they’re just proud for what’s going on out here. So I couldn’t ask for a better volunteer crew out there or better support crew.”
Saturday capped a busy six-day stretch for Logsdon, as he placed seventh out of 1,051 runners with a 2:40:14 clocking at the Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.
His PR is 2:30:37, set in 2015 while taking 47th in a field of 6,077 at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn.
“I came in with the mindset of about 2:45, so at 2:46 and some change I can’t really complain,” Logsdon noted when asked about his time. “I had a little bit of a side stitch right at about 20 and that kind of persisted through about 25. That made it kind of tough, so I just had to really gut it out at that point. I wasn’t really sure if I was dehydrated … I just tried to battle through that and make it to the finish line.”
Logsdon had a 6:21 pace in the victory.
The Dana College graduate has run between 20-25 marathons. He’s also dabbled in 50Ks and 50-milers. He said he ran his first 100L a couple weeks ago, as well.
Khris Vickroy, 41, of Iowa City, Iowa, was runner-up with a time of 2:58:35.25.
“The course is great; it’s scenic and it has some decent rolling hills,” he said. “But about 10 miles out, the wind really started picking up – I mean, it was probably pushing 20 miles per hour out there. I probably lost 2 or 3 minutes on my race just in the last, maybe, 8 miles. It just wore me down; my abs started cramping up from trying to fight the wind and the hills, so I was trying to fend off that. But I kept seeing a couple people in front of me – the relay and (Logsdon), they just kind of kept me motivated to keep pushing.
“It was tough out there. Anything above 50 degrees makes it a really, really tough day; and I think it was 63 at Mile 1. It’s maybe pushing 70 now. So with the wind and the heat, it was a really tough day.”
It marked Vickroy’s 23rd career marathon. He’s run a marathon in 16 different states in his quest to reach 50.
“I love small-town races,” he added. “It’s just more fun. Everybody’s more laid back and it allows you to just really push yourself. And everybody’s cool; when you pass them, they always cheer you on. It’s just a good atmosphere.”
Chris Brown, 42, of Garfield, Minn., placed third in 3:00:15.65.
Rounding out the top 10: fourth, Kyle Schmidt, 27, Sioux Falls, 3:01:27.04; fifth, Daniel Wespetal, 36, Maple Grove, Minn., 3:06:35.25; sixth, William McGinnis, 37, Madison, 3:07:42.64; seventh, Mark Hager, 51, Bismarck, N.D., 3:11:23.13; eighth, Scott Marsh, 48, Austin, Minn., 3:13:45.39; ninth, Aaron Ude, 34, Rapid City, 3:14:03.97; 10th, Josh Scholten, 34, Marshall, Minn., 3:16:36.66.
Erica Knips was the top female finisher, coming in in 13th overall with a 3:20:25.53 clocking.
“It was great,” said the 29-year-old Sioux Falls resident, who was competing in Brookings for the sixth time. “It was a nice, flat course. Good community support. It’s probably my all-time favorite course that I’ve done.”
As for her time, “as long as I finish and I feel good, that’s all that matters,” she added. “It wasn’t a PR, but that’s all right.”
Knips has completed 15 career marathons.
Notes: 127 (86 men/41 women) of the 130 entrants completed the 26.2-mile trek.
Division Winners
FEMALE
Overall – Erica Knips, 29, Sioux Falls, 3:20:25.53
Masters – Sarah Leimer, 44, Stoughton, Wis., 4:09:24.49
19-under – Kate Gillette, 19, Redfield, 3:35:59.27
20-24 – Breah Waldron, 22, Brookings, 5:08:26.41
25-29 – Jillian Turek, 25, Duluth, Minn., 4:17:14.93
30-34 – Michelle Young, 31, Traverse City, Mich., 4:31:52.74
35-39 – Claudia Grogean, 39, Woodbury, Conn., 3:50:03.69
40-44 – Shelly Diener, 43, Victoria, Minn., 4:12:30.39
45-49 – Lisa Heaton, 49, Blair, Neb., 5:00:45.44
50-54 – Susan Kment, 51, Fremont, Neb., 4:31:43.59
55-59 – Sheila Beermann, 55, Elk Point, 4:21:49.53
60-64 – Sandra Weston, 64, Kansas City, Mo., 6:00:58.49
65-69 – (no participants)
70-over – (no participants)
MALE
Overall – Cory Logsdon, 29, Omaha, Neb., 2:46:09.11
Masters – Mark Hager, 51, Bismarck, N.D., 3:11:23.13
19-under – Philip Brahana, 19, Atlanta, Ga., 5:19:38.61
20-24 – Daniel Domenichini, 20, Brookings, 3:50:05.38
25-29 – Kyle Schmidt, 27, Sioux Falls, 3:01:27.04
30-34 – Aaron Ude, 34, Rapid City, 3:14:03.97
35-39 – Daniel Wespetal, 36, Maple Grove, Minn., 3:06:35.25
40-44 – Matthew Hufford, 41, Ames, Iowa, 3:44:00.79
45-49 – Scott Marsh, 48, Austin, Minn., 3:13:45.39
50-54 – Mike Soltys, 50, Omaha, Neb., 2:36:25.67
55-59 – Paul Hanusa, 59, Volga, 4:06:17.83
60-64 – Jim Swales, 62, Center Point, Iowa, 4:32:17.75
65-69 – Philip Hodges, 69, Ames, Iowa, 4:11:20.90
70-over – Thomas Korn, 70, Louisville, Neb., 6:37:53.58
Half Marathon
Nicholas Penning, 27, of Sioux Falls, prevailed with a time of 1:17:35.16.
“It was decent,” he said of the race. “It was a little windier and warm than I expected, but I think it was good for what I was looking for. Actually, I was hoping to go a little bit faster than that, but I’ve never run this course before – so all the corners and everything else, I was trying to focus on just getting around the right spot without getting too far off pace. But it was good.”
Penning said he’s run in countless half marathons.
“This was the first one I’ve done this year, so it was a good little benchmark,” he added. “Hopefully I can take that and increase my training based off this performance.”
Randall Rasmussen, 56, of Vermillion finished as runner-up with a 1:22:42.00 clocking.
Marathon regular Tim Fryer ran the half this year, crossing in third in 1:23:44.27.
“I’m doing the Black Hills 100 in June. A road marathon beats a guy up; I still have to squeeze in some long runs in May here,” the 38-year-old from Hendricks, Minn., said when asked about the change. “I kind of dropped off at Mile 10. I was trying to keep pace with second, and at Mile 10 I had a pain lapse and I fell apart there for a couple miles. But it wasn’t too bad; I have a lot of miles on my legs. I didn’t taper down for this race. I’m just trying to train through it; trying to make that 100 my ‘A’ race for this year.
“I’ll be back for the marathon next year.”
Fryer also ran the Scotty Roberts 5K on Friday, taking second.
He completed the 100-mile Lean Horse Ultra Marathon last year and is heading back to the event this August.
Nathan Schwab, 35, was fourth in 1:25:22.33 and fellow Sioux Falls resident Patrick Steffen, 39, finished fifth with a time of 1:27:05.66.
Another familiar name in the marathon, Jennifer Freeman was the top female finisher and placed ninth overall in the half on Saturday with a 1:31:53.82 clocking.
“It was okay,” said the 36-year-old from Omaha, Neb., who’s won the 26.2-mile race in Brookings twice in years past. “I was a little tired because I just did the Lincoln full six days ago. But I love the course; this is my, I think, sixth visit to Brookings.”
Freeman’s next big event is the 50-mile race at Lean Horse.
Notes: 351 (224 women/127 men) of the 353 entrants completed the 13.1-mile trek.
Division Winners
FEMALE
Overall – Jennifer Freeman, 36, Omaha, Neb., 1:31:53.82
Masters – Adrienne McEntee, 44, Brookings, 1:42:34.2
19-under – McKenzie Erikson, 19, Salem, 1:58:15.15
20-24 – Rebecca Reid, 23, Brookings, 1:46:51.55
25-29 – Nicole Black, 27, Sioux Falls, 1:41:01.63
30-34 – Heidi Merriman, 34, Beresford, 1:43:29.83
35-39 – Jenn McElroy, 35, Watertown, 1:48:03.24
40-44 – Kim Van Dyken, 40, Sioux Center, Iowa, 1:42:51.76
45-49 – Michelle Thomas, 46, Sioux Falls, 1:58:10.33
50-54 – Sarah Reiffenberger, 52, Watertown, 2:02:48.82
55-59 – Carol Hohenthaner, 57, Yankton, 1:45:58.15
60-64 – Carol Reeb, 60, Joliet, Ill., 2:09:50.97
65-69 – Marte Hepburn, 66, Merrimac, Wis., 2:33:17.72
70-over – Karen Bader, 74, Lodi, Wis., 3:38:20.69.
MALE
Overall – Nicholas Penning, 27, Sioux Falls, 1:17:35.16
Masters – Jeff Scoular, 42, Sioux Falls 1:31:25.29
19-under – Jaxson Waugh, 15, Watertown, 1:51:30.06
20-24 – Tyler Propst, 23, Pierre, 1:31:04.01
25-29 – Drew Hoekema, 28, Platte, 1:37:38.70
30-34 – Jesse Kroupa, 33, Kimball, 1:31:47.22
35-39 – Nathan Schwab, 35, Sioux Falls, 1:25:22.33
40-44 – Travis Morningstar, 42, Buffalo, Minn., 1:40:07.61
45-49 – Ross Abraham, 48, Brookings, 1:33:20.61
50-54 – Jim Lewandowski, 53, Watertown, 1:35:22.50
55-59 – Dan Propst, 55, Pierre, 1:45:28.60
60-64 – Michael Brown, 64, Minneapolis, 2:16:29.31
65-69 – Doug Beste, 65, Brookings, 1:47:48.17
70-over – Steve Schroeder, 74, River Falls, Wis., 2:25:00.46
Marathon Relay
Dragon Alumni took the title with a time of 2:59:16.35. Team members were Jim Fay, Dustin Lillegaard, Jim M. Fay, Amanda Fay and Scott Egeberg.
Mickelson Middle School XC, comprised of seventh-graders Tyler Spring, Dawson Peters, Sam Conrad, Ian Smith, Matthew Weelborg and Carter Johnson, was second in 3:14:02.63.
The Prairie Chicks, from Pipestone, Minn., finished third overall and was the top female team in 3:17:19.21. Members were Megan Fry, Laura Wurster, Jessica McConnell, Stacy Fey, Jeanne Rud and Karrie Johnson.
The Running Bees, from Butterfield, Minn., finished fourth and was the top mixed team with a time of 3:21:22.73. Members were Kyle D. Blomgren, Kim Blomgren, Kyle D. Blomgren Jr., Adam J. Blomgren, Liana M. Blomgren and Ryan E. Blomgren.
Notes: All 45 entered teams completed the race.
