Local runners win relay portion of Blue Ridge Marathon

4 24 marathon winners copyStaff Report

A local team of runners took top honors in their event last Saturday in the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke.

The PC Clydesdales – Cam Akers, Rob Colley, Hunter Thomas and Josh Fleenor – won the Freedom First Blue Ridge Team Relay, which is a part of the Blue Ridge Marathon.

The “mountain-town” marathon attracted runners from all over the region competing in a variety of races and is considered as one of America’s toughest road races.

The Clydesdales won their 26.2-mile relay with a time of 3 hours and 32 seconds, and a pace of 7 minutes, 49 seconds per mile.

They easily outdistanced the second place team, the Leesburg Road Killers by a full 36 minutes.  The Road Killers finished with a time of 3 hours, 36 minutes and 41 seconds.

Ten teams of four runners competed in the relay.

The relay is divided into four legs of various lengths and elevations, including the Mill Mountain Leg, Roanoke Mountain Leg, Peakwood Mountain Leg and finally the shortest run – the South Roanoke to Downtown Leg.