http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/other-sports/sophia-liu-samuel-hadgu-win-seattle-rock-n-roll-marathon/?
Sophia Liu, Samuel Hadgu win Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon
Originally published June 18, 2016 at 5:05 pm
Liu, 32, posted a time of 2:51:45 to claim the female division. Hadgu,
an Eritrea native who has resided in Oakland, Calif., for the past
three months, was the fastest full marathon finisher, completing the
course in 2:26:01.
By
Kristen Gowdy
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle resident Sophia Liu, who has spent the past five years at the
University of Washington as a research scientist after moving from
China, won the women’s Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon.
Liu, 32, posted a time of 2:51:45.
She won the Seattle Marathon in 2015, so racing in Seattle is nothing new.
“I do hill repeats a lot with the Seattle Running Club … the hills
weren’t as difficult as I thought they’d be,” she said. “I had so much
support from the Seattle Running Club, from my family, I knew
everybody here.”
Colorado resident Lisa Stelzner was second in 2:54.11.
Samuel Golitom Hadgu, an Eritrea native who has resided in Oakland,
Calif., for the past three months, was the fastest full marathon
finisher, completing the course in 2:26:01.
The 33-year-old Hagdu was five minutes faster than second-place
finisher Jeffrey Stein, who crossed in 2:31:06.
“I started alone and finished alone,” Hagdu said.
“I wanted to run this race to see the city of Seattle. The course and
the music were very nice and [Seward Park] was my favorite part.”
Notes
• Alex Doran, 18, was the fastest finisher in the 8K race. The
Bellevue native finished in 27:38. Douglas Christ, 33, finished second
in 28:03.
• On the women’s side of the 8K, 21-year-old Canadian Vanessa
Trofimenkoff completed the race in 30:28 to earn first. Snohomish
resident Erica McElrea, 33, was the second-place finisher in 31:14.
• More than 20,000 participants competed in the race.
• Participants traveled to Seattle from all 50 states and 28 countries.
• Women made up 61 percent of the total participant field, and 20
percent of the marathoners were competing in their first marathon.
• Seattle native Sheila Croft, the 2013 Seattle Marathon winner,
returned to competitive racing a year after she was involved in a
serious biking accident and head injury that required neurosurgery.
Croft finished the marathon in 4:32:29.
• The Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon series, which features 30 domestic and
international venues in 2016, will next move to Chicago, Ill., on July
17.
Received on Sat Jun 18 2016 - 21:43:56 EDT