CLEVELAND — The defending champion of the women's Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon may have come up a bit short in her bid for a repeat win on Sunday, but Westlake's Sarah Horbol was more than pleased to be the runner-up.
"I'm very happy with how today went," Horbol told WKYC's Dave Chudowsky at the finish line after finishing second behind Margaret Njuguna. "I went into the race with a time goal and I'm happy to run a 2:48 with the conditions today."
Horbol had hoped to break her personal record time of 2 hours 42 minutes, but said she had to be practical knowing that the heat was building up on the course close to 80 degrees.
"It didn't hit me until I was coming back east through Lakewood," she said of the heat. "Going down Detroit to the finish, the sun was beating down on me."
One thing that made it easier to run in the humid conditions for Horbol was the support of family and friends throughout the 26 mile run.
"It's really exciting because I've lived here all my life, born and raised," she said. "I don't think more than a couple of minutes went by without hearing someone calling my name on the course. I felt so comfortable because I grew up here."
When she appeared with Will Ujek on a recent Let's Be Clear, Horbol said she's got her sights set on the Olympic qualifiers in Atlanta, where she'll need to finish within 2:29:30 and place within the top three to advance to Tokyo. She doesn't, however, plan to reach Tokyo. Instead, she's focused on recording her best personal time.
"That would be incredible," she said of advancing to the 2020 Olympics. "I just know where I stand right now, I'm being realistic, and I hope I have my best time."