C-Falls runners do well in Two Bear marathon
<p>Kelly Hamilton, of Columbia Falls, runs in the Two Bear marathon on Sept. 7 in Whitefish. She clocked a 4:18:41 to place ninth among women. Photo by Matt Baldwin / Whitefish Pilot</p>
Seventy-two runners completed the full marathon in the 10th annual Two Bear Marathon race in Whitefish on Sept. 7.
The full marathon starts at the Lion Mountain trailhead and passes by Beaver, Murray, Woods and Thornberg lakes before leaving the dirt trails and following pavement along Whitefish Lake and concluding at The Wave fitness center.
The winner, Brian Rhodes, 25, who recently moved to Whitefish, beat the previous record time by 25 minutes in his first marathon run ever, finishing at 2:53:19.
Rhodes said he plans to enter the 50-mile Le Grizz ultramarathon along the Hungry Horse Reservoir in October.
Jan Hextel, 75, of Long Beach, Calif., completed the full marathon along with her son Steve Clemens, 53, of Whitefish, and her granddaughter, Jessica Maloney, 27, also of Long Beach.
Local female runners included Samantha Avery, of Coram, third at 3:48:07.9, and Kelly Hamilton, of Columbia Falls, ninth at 4:18:41.4.
Local male runners included Seth Carbonari, Columbia Falls, sixth at 3:39:15.9, Mark Tarr, of Columbia Falls, 14th at 4:06:16.8, and Mike Barnes, of Columbia Falls, 43rd at 5:51:23.6.