FOX CITIES, Wis. (WFRV) – A popular event returned to the Fox Cities Sunday morning after organizers made the tough call to cancel last year because of weather.
Runners conquered half-marathon and marathon distances on Sunday morning as part of the 34th running of the Community First Fox Cities Marathon.
“I don’t think, I really don’t think just run, run, run like Forrest Gump,” said overall winner in the marathon, John Thill. “At the end of the day, there might not be a tomorrow, so just got to focus on what I can do right now.”
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Thill won the marathon with a finishing time of 2:39:21. He said he ran cross country and track and field for UW-Oshkosh, and a lot of his teammates were on the course cheering him on, which really helped.
He said his coaches at UWO helped him with a training plan and that he surprised himself by running a much faster pace on race day than what he was doing on his long runs.
“I’m glad that I was able to get this done, and now I’m here and just blessed to have this opportunity with my dad and my family, that was backing me up this whole time. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Thill said.
Appleton resident Relena Ribbons won the women’s marathon with a finishing time of 3:07:00. She said the thousands of spectators cheering for her along the course really helped her out.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” she said. “I can be working really hard, and it feels like you’re floating on air when everybody else is cheering you through.”
Local 5 News met Susan Zimny from Chicago at around the six-mile mark on the course. She said she was there to cheer on her son, Daniel.
“I thought when he ended high school the running days would be over and I wouldn’t be able to see any of his races anymore, but it’s great to see him still running into adulthood and be able to cheer him on,” she said.
Zimny’s cheering must have worked because about two hours after meeting her, Daniel was in front of our cameras for his post-race interview after finishing second overall in the marathon.
“It was fun the first half, and then it gets really hard,” Daniel said. “Then until you get to the very end, you start smiling again because you know you’re about to finish.”
“I think it does a lot (the on-course support) we saw him at the start and he saw us and he had a big smile on his face so I think it makes a world of difference,” Susan added.
The half-marathon and marathon featured hundreds of finishers at all different paces. At the end of the race, there’s a bell that runners can ring if they get a personal record time.
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Liv Allen from Madison said she played softball and volleyball in high school, but took up running when she went to college in Madison. She finished her first-ever marathon on Sunday morning.
“Oh, I started crying (when I crossed the finish line), not because I was in pain but because I was really happy,” she told Local 5 News. “It was awesome.”
The Fox Cities Marathon weekend is a three-day event and includes 5k, 10k, and kid fun-run races as well. It takes about 1800 volunteers to put on the event each year.
