Jeffrey Eggleston Triumphs At The Pittsburgh Marathon

He was there just to rabbit the race, but ended up winning it.

Former University of Virginia standout Jeffrey Eggleston won the Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday morning, clocking 2:16:40. Eggleston is a native of Rochester, New York. He had been recruited by organizers to participate in the race as a rabbit, but ended up not dropping out and broke away from the pack at the 24-mile mark to win the race.

Bekele Delelecha of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:35:44.

A half marathon was held in conjunction with the marathon.

Kenya’s Nicholas Kurgat broke the course record with a 1:03:03 winning time. The previous course record (1:05:13) was held by Ryan Sheehan who set it last year. The women’s winner in the half marathon was Malika Mejdoub of Morocco. She crossed the finish line n 1:14:28–just one second faster than second-place finisher Aziza Aliyu of Ethiopia.

The race-day conditions were nearly optimal with light rain and gray skies. Approximately 18,000 runners and walkers took part in the event, which, besides the marathon and half marathon, also included a marathon relay.

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