CLEVELAND — The 2022 Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon was a rousing success, and Northeast Ohio was well-represented at the top of the standings.
For the second consecutive year, Lakewood native Jeremiah Fitzgerald was the overall champion with a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, and three seconds. It was more than five minutes slower than his winning time from a year ago, but the 25-year-old was still more than seven minutes clear of second-place finisher Josh Baker, of Solon.
"This was [about] coming back and defending the title, which is hard to do," Fitzgerald said of his victory. "It felt good."
In the women's competition, Hudson's Ashton Swinford took the title in 2:46:46. She was faster than all but four of the male competitors and just over two minutes ahead of the second-place female, Macy McAdams of Massillon.
"I used to not be anywhere near the front, but I just keep training and getting a little bit better every single year," the 32-year-old Swinford told reporters. "I just never stopped."
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's Joe Westrick was the half-marathon winner at 1:11:59, and Jaclyn Range of Westlake won the women's crown at 1:20:05.
"Oh my gosh, I love this sport," Range, a mother of three, said. "My family keeps me going. I'm so grateful for them for cheering for me and letting me do this."
Not to be outdone, 3News meteorologist Matt Wintz clocked a time of 1:48:42, placing him in the top quarter of all male runners.
Overall, more than 5,000 people took part in today's competitions, including roughly 1,000 in the full marathon. You can view the full standings here.
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