Stansloski, Baumgartner Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Champs
Paulett, Milstead and Tadesse, Bacha half-marathon and 10K champions; an event record 12,400 participants at 32nd edition

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By Leigh Greenfelder
Posted Monday, 18 May, 2009

From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA

CLEVELAND - (May 17, 2009) - U.S. runners dominated the men's and women's marathon and half-marathon races on Sunday at the 32nd Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K.

Joel Stansloski, a 23-year-old runner from Tulsa, Okla., was the first to cross the marathon finish line with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, 37 seconds. Stansloski, who was raised in nearby Wooster, Ohio, finished first in his first-ever Rite Aid Cleveland event.

In cool, dry and sunny conditions, he kept pace with a group of runners until about mile 16. He led the race the final 10 miles.

"I thought I would have a pretty good chance," Stansloski said. "The weather was beautiful and the race was really well-orchestrated and well-organized."

Andy Martin, 34, Bend, Ore. was runner-up in 2:31:20, followed by 32-year-old David Mooney of Peninsula, Ohio at 2:33:21.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackie Baumgartner of New York City won the women's marathon, finishing in 2:57:49. Like Stansloski, Baumgartner also has Ohio roots, having lived in Oak Harbor, Ohio.

Kent, Ohio resident Shanna Ailes, 30, finished second in 3:08:17, followed by Melanie Lenk, 27, Wilmington, N.C. who ran 3:08:36.

Ohio runners also led the men's half-marathon, with 25-year-old Christopher Paulett of Columbus crossing the finish line in 1:13:57. Aaron Apathy, 23, of Parma and Heath Boylan, 23, of Mount Vernon, followed Paulett in 1:14:29 and 1:16:11, respectively.

Another Wilmington, N.C. runner, 24-year-old Melissa Milstead, finished the women's half-marathon first in 1:27:14. She was followed by Ohioans Elizabeth Hansen of Euclid and Corey Randall of Cincinnati. The 27-year-old Hansen finished in 1:27:52 and 24-year-old Randall was third (1:29:08).

The half-marathon victories were particularly significant as the winners had more competition than ever in the event's history. The ever-popular half-marathon sold out this year with approximately 5,000 registrants.

As has become common with the 10K race, professional runners dominated the top spots as Ethiopians Dereje Tadesse and Emebet Bacha won the men's and women's races, respectively.

Tadesse, 22, finished in 28:55, while Bacha, 28, won the women's race in 32:28. The men's champion was followed by Kenyans Ernest Kebenei and Samuel Ndereba who ran 29:07 and 29:31.

In the women's 10K, Kenyan Jane Murage was runner-up (33:07) with Marina Ivanova of Russia third (33:18).

An event record 12,400 runners participated in the 2009 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K running events, including a new 5K on Saturday that drew 500 runners, the We Run This City partnership that had 500 school-aged participants, and another 300-plus children who participated in the Kids' Run.

"New events, a new course and new start and finish areas were very well received by the participants," said Ralph Staph, race director. "We also had thousands of spectators lining the start and finish of the course to cheer on the runners. The new set up really allowed for increased spectator participation."

32nd Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon
Cleveland, OH, Sunday, May 17, 2009

MEN
1) Joel Stansloski (OK), 2:27:37, $1000
2) Andy Martin (OR), 2:31:20, $500
3) David Mooney (OH), 2:33:21, $300

WOMEN
1) Jackie Baumgartner (NY), 2:57:49, $1000
2) Shanna Ailes (OH), 3:08:17, $500
3) Melanie Lenk (NC), 3:08:36, $300

10K (also 32nd)
MEN
1) Dereje Tadesse (ETH), 28:55, $1500
2) Ernest Kebenei (KEN), 29:07, $750
3) Samuel Ndereba (KEN), 29:31, $500

WOMEN
1) Emebet Bacha (ETH), 32:28, $1500
2) Jane Murage (KEN), 33:07, $750
3) Marina Ivanova (RUS), 33:18, $500

Find deeper race results at: www.ClevelandMarathon.com and registration is open for the 2010 race, scheduled for Sunday, May 16.

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