Runners brave near-freezing early morning temperatures as they begin their long trek through Huntington during the 2014 Marshall-St. Mary’s Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014, outside Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Two hours after the starting gun had sounded Saturday morning, Joan C. Edwards Stadium at Marshall University was a melting pot of runners of all stripes, milling around in bright colored sneakers and jackets and peering at results sheets taped to a board on the football field.
By 9 a.m., the 5K and most of the half-marathon runners had completed their races at the 11th annual Marshall University-St. Mary’s Marathon, with the first competitors in the full, 26-mile event still about 30 to 45 minutes from crossing the finish line in the north endzone of the stadium.
By week’s end, more than 2,300 had registered to run in one of the four events offered — including a half-marathon relay event.
Organizers were hoping to break last year’s record registration of 2,500, and may have done so by the time the race got underway at 7 a.m.
Each year, the event draws distance runners from across the country — and even across the globe…
