Area Sports by Michael Dashiell

Even with the chance the Hood Canal bridge might not be open by the time the marathon got under way, the champion already was just a few miles down the road.

Ian Fraser of Port Townsend won the overall title at the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, his second NODM title, with a 2:36 finish.

Fraser won the inaugural 2003 North Olympic Discovery Marathon by nearly 11 minutes.

This time around, Fraser outpaced Seattle's Aaron Ladd by more than six minutes.

Fraser missed breaking the course record set in 2006 by Preston Brashers by just 15 seconds.

Margreet Dietz of Squamish won the women's championship in a little more than 3:10, racing to a 13-minute win. Ginger Gruber of Port Orchard was second.

Dietz's win set a course record by about 10 seconds, breaking the 2007 mark set by three-time NODM marathon winner Lori Buratto of Spokane.

Dave Elger was the top Sequim marathoner with a 3:07 finish, 11th overall, while Christina Bruce was Sequim's top female finisher, crossing the line in 3:40, good for 11th among female marathoners.

Harsha Thirumurthy of North Carolina won the overall half-marathon title in 1:11, about two minutes ahead of Victoria's Nick Best and a new course record. Thirumurthy's finish sets a new course record Fraser had set back in 2005.

Sequim 12-year-old Alexander Barry was 16th in the men's category and 20th overall, Sequim's top half-marathoner.

On the women's side, Ashley Kapus of Poulsbo took the half-marathon title in 1:28, 20 seconds ahead of San Diego's Katie Klevens, the 2009

Sequim RunOff 10k winner.

Sequim's Susan Weidemier was fourth, finishing faster than one hour, 32 minutes.

All told, more than 1,500 athletes competed in the marathon, marathon relays or half-marathon races.

With another 245 runners competing in the Olympic Medical Center 5k and 10k races the same day, Sunday saw more than 1,750 runners swarming across Sequim and Port Angeles.

Sequim runners had a strong showing in the OMC races on Sunday.

Sequim's Michelle Leclair won the OMC 10k women's title in 47:03 while Redmond's Oleksandr Golovatyi took the overall 10K title in 42:37, edging Sequim's Matthew Broun by a little more than a minute. Sequim 14-year-old Adrian Clifford won the 5k title with an 18:59 finish. Rose Christen of Poulsbo won the OMC 5k women's crown while Sequim's Staci Stratton took second.



Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.



North Olympic Discovery Marathon winners:

Marathon

_ Men

1. Ian Fraser, Port Townsend 2:36:02

2. Aaron Ladd, Seattle 2:42:18

3. Jeff Hashimoto, Ellensburg 2:42:25

_ Women

1. Margreet Dietz, Squamish (B.C.) 3:10:39

2. Ginger Gruber, Port Orchard 3:23:20

3. Sarah West, Portland, Ore. 3:26:06



Half-marathon

_ Men

1. Harsha Thirumurthy, Carrboro, N.C. 1:11:38

2. Nick Best, Victoria (B.C.) 1:13:34

3. Ben Sauvage, Seattle 1:13:42

_ Women

1. Ashley Kapus, Poulsbo 1:28:53

2. Katie Klevens, San Diego, Calif. 1:29:14

3. Kristi Jordan, Boulder, Colo. 1:31:16