An estimated 3800 runners, walkers and dashers turned out for the 42nd annual Mercer Island Half Marathon Sunday, March 23, taking off from the Mercer Island Community and Event Center and making their way around the Island.
Seattle’s John Ricardi won the half marathon with a time of 1:08:30, with Mercer Island’s Justin Houck finishing second with a time of 1:10:29. Joshua Ricardi came in third at 1:12:39, Justin Johnson was fourth at 1:13:09 and Andrew Hillier rounded out the top five with a time of 1:13:45. Registered to race but not participating this year was last year’s half-marathon winner, Seattle’s Uli Steidl.
In the women’s field, Ruth Perkins of Puyallup had the top time, finishing the half marathon with a time of 1:17:37. Coming in second was Trisha Steidl of Seattle at 1:25:33. Karen Craddick was third at 1:25:40, Milah Frownfelter was fourth at 1:26:54 and Bess McKinney was fifth at 1:27:29.
After the race, Rotary Race director Dawn Naye was all smiles.
“We’re super happy,” said Naye. “We finished with our most-ever 4850 pre-registered runners. We broke our record, which was great.”
Of the 4850 pre-registered runners, Naye estimated 3800 runners participated in the half marathon, 10 K run, 5 K run/walk and Kids Dash. The event, partnering the Mercer Island Rotary Club with the Swedish Cancer Institute, serves as a fundraiser for colon cancer prevention and Rotary charities. While Naye couldn’t confirm any fundraising numbers as they were still tallying offline donations, she said numbers at the close of online registration were up over last year.
Naye said the Rotary Club appreciates Mercer Island residents giving up a few hours on a Sunday to allow the Mercer Island Half to go on, and she had praise for the event’s volunteers for helping put on a well-organized event.
“I felt our crew was really dialed in, very seamless. There were no emergencies from my perspective. Everything was just real smooth this year,” said Naye. “We couldn’t be happier. The weather cooperated, people seemed happy, runners were thanking volunteers. It was one of the best years we’ve had with volunteers.”
Mercer Island Half Top Ten
Men
1. John Ricardi, 1:08:30
2. Justin Houck, 1:10:29
3. Joshua Ricardi, 1:12:39
4. Justin Johnson, 1:13:09
5. Andrew Hillier, 1:13:45
6. Kolter Grigsby, 1:14:32
7. Pete Hanson, 1:14:42
8. Gabriel Kliot, 1:14:47
9. Shaun Frandsen, 1:15:34
10. David Guerdan, 1:15:56
Women
1. Ruth Perkins, 1:17:37
2. Trisha Steidl, 1:25:33
3. Karen Craddick, 1:25:40
4. Milah Frownfelter, 1:26:54
5. Bess McKinney, 1:27:29
6. Kelly McKean, 1:29:32
7. Sarah Getty, 1:29:39
8. Adrienne Nova, 1:29:44
9. Meghan Manaois, 1:30:28
10. Jodie Isomura, 1:31:38
10K Run Top 10
Men
1. Nick Johnson, 36:39
2. Alastair Murray, 37:31
3. Bayron Najera, 38:09
4. Adam Grambo, 38:16
5. Ryan Perovich, 38:35
6. Peter Lohrmann, 38:51
7. Domhnall Wildy, 38:56
8. Mitch Parker, 39:43
9. Ben Logsdon, 40:27
10. Max Kingsbury, 40:33
Women
1. Allie Moore, 38:27
2. Marti Riemer, 39:39
3. Erica Pitman, 39:49
4. Beth Steen, 42:46
5. Jodi Defenbaugh, 43:29
6. Flo Booth, 44:24
7. Kathryn Armstrong, 44:37
8. Morgan Root, 45:13
9. Jesika Heidloff, 45:16
10. Catherine Waddell, 45:43
To see a full list of results, visit the Mercer Island Rotary Run website at www.mercerislandhalf.com.
Photos by Matt Brashears/Special to the Reporter.
