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EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville area had a strong running contingency recently at the St. Jude's Memphis Marathon.
Thirty-two Edwardsville area runners competed in the St. Jude's weekend races on Saturday, Dec. 3. Among this group were two race winners, six St. Jude Heroes who raised money for St. Jude’s Hospital, and 17 Metro Miler Running Club members.
Kayla Brown won the women’s division of the marathon with a time of 2:55:42, which means she averaged a 6:41 pace per mile over the 26.2 mile distance. Keith Meyer won the men’s division of the half marathon with a time of 1:10:02, which was a blistering 5:21/mile pace.
Both Brown and Meyer represented Runwell Racing team, sponsored by the Runwell store located in downtown Edwardsville.
Runwell’s owner, Jen Schaller, said, “Their race times are phenomenal and I am fortunate to have such talented and accomplished runners who work with our area runners.”
Bill Burke, an Edwardsville area runner said, “They both seem like such nice people, until they pin on a bib and then they become the fiercest competitors on the planet!”
The Metro Milers Running and Walking club fielded 16 runners in the marathon, half marathon, and 10K races. This was the club’s annual trip that has previously included trips to Madison, Wisconsin, Kansas City, and Fort Oglethorpe Georgia. The group travels together, roots each other on and celebrates their successful race finishes in the community.
This year, several of the Metro Milers ended up on Beale Street to listen to Blues and eat Memphis Barbecue. Erica Hunt, the Metro Milers president, said, “our club trip is my favorite event of the year. It offers members an opportunity to travel to another community, get to know each other better, have some fun and represent our own amazing running community.”
Among the runners, six raised $7,460 as St. Jude Heroes. A St. Jude Hero is a runner who fund raises for St. Jude while training for their race. Money raised is put toward a nationwide alliance against childhood cancer.
Among these runners, Shannon McWhorter has run as a St. Jude Hero four times and raised over $13,500. Shannon reflected on the kids that she is helping, “I can't love this enough. Helping children with childhood cancer is why I run this race every year.”
Metro Milers is a non-competitive running club in the St. Louis Metro-East area with a mission to promote running & fitness for individuals of all ages & abilities. The club sponsors weekly runs, club trips, holiday parties, sponsors races, and coaches beginning runners. RunWell is a full service running specialty store & coaching center. They carry the highest quality footwear, apparel, & accessories for all your running needs.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Matt Feldmann at 618-751-2807 or email at Matthew.feldmann@gmail.com.
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