Not even periods of light rain or downpours in the Glass Bowl could dampen the excitement that Derek Stone and Kathleen Lawrence had when they crossed the finish line on Sunday morning.
Stone, of Westlake, Ohio, won the men’s race in 2:28:30 while Lawrence, of Toronto, claimed the women’s title in 2:53:57 at the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon.
“It just feels super awesome,” Lawrence said. “I was definitely hurting towards the end, but still, I was feeling OK and I think once I saw the finish line and got closer to the stadium, I felt really good, really happy, really grateful that my body can do this and that I was able to hold on and win.”
Stone, 36, and Lawrence, 39, claimed their first marathon titles on what was a warm morning until showers cooled down temperatures later on in the race. Both were excited to win in a familiar area that brought back special memories.
“I used to live in Toledo back in 2012, so running through a lot of these streets, I didn’t compete much back then but I ran a lot and I ran through Ottawa Hills often,” Stone said. “So it brought me back to the area when I lived here, and it’s pretty cool.”
Added Lawrence: “I was here last year. I came in fourth, I had a really amazing race last year. I really loved the course, loved the support on the course. Everything was just so well organized and really amazing, so I decided to come back again and really happy I did.”
Stone, who spends most of his time competing in triathlons, was running in just his second marathon. The certified Ironman and USA Triathlon coach finished second in the 2021 Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon in 2:28.
“I mostly do triathlons, but I knew it was going to be difficult to train because of the volume it takes and the time for swimming and cycling just wasn’t going to happen this winter,” Stone said. “So I focused on running as much as I could.
“This is a perfect race, it’s close to Westlake. I knew it was a fast course, and it was fun to come out here.”
Stone said he was leading the first few miles, but shortly after, he thought he was in trouble with his body “not enjoying what was going on.” He stopped and walked briefly around the 14th mile, but got a second wind a mile later after drinking fluids.
With around three miles to go, he caught up to the leader, then overtook him with two miles remaining.
“I don’t know what happened out there today. I think a lot of guys didn’t have a great day, myself included. I was just paying attention to how I felt,” Stone said. “I could feel my calves easing up, and I didn’t make that move until I knew I could overtake him and I could continue pushing that pace to take the lead.”
The warm temperatures in the low 60s, as well as the rain, didn’t have a negative impact on Stone. He said the rain felt good and that it was a “comfortable” and “ideal” day for a race.
“If you asked me in December, the goal was like ‘I’m going to win, I’m going to break 2:20 and see what happens.’ And then I had a couple setbacks, so my goals shifted,” Stone said. “I was like ‘2:22 is the goal, get top three.’ When I woke up this morning, I was like ‘Just race the race, get top three, time doesn’t matter.’ And that’s what happened.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence had a strong start and finish en route to improving three places from last year. She nearly topped her time of 2:49:23 in 2023.
“I felt really good in the first 10K,” Lawrence said. “Around 13, 14, I started actually feeling a little bit rough.
“Able to rally through, felt a bit better by half and I could feel I was closing in on the lead female at that time, so I could see her and that was on the nice downhill stretch of the course. That was definitely a highlight. I just felt really good in there and was able to keep that momentum going to the end.”
Lawrence, who trains with BlackToe Running in Toronto, has been running marathons since 2015. She said she enjoys the flat course and the community support surrounding the Glass City Marathon.
“Absolutely worth the trip,” she said. “I’ll be back again for sure.”
Lawrence said she had hopes of competing for a title entering the race, and as it continued, the hope became a reality.
“I think my goal was to have a strong race and not let the heat get to me,” Lawrence said. “I had a feeling I could maybe contend for first place.
“I was running with a friend and I think about 18 kilometers, I said I have the goal to win, so that was on my mind definitely.”
University of Toledo men’s cross country standout Dennis Mutai, who claimed the program’s first individual Mid-American Conference title in October, was the top finisher in the Owens Corning Half Marathon. Sophia Afridi, of Perrysburg, was the top women’s finisher.
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