Local Woman Wins Hospital Hill Half Marathon

She ran unopposed the whole way.

On Saturday, Melissa Todd became the first local woman since 2007 to win the Hospital Hill Half Marathon in Kansas City. She broke the finish-line tape in 1:20:38.

After the starting gun sounded, Todd took an early lead. No one went with her. Throughout the race, she peeked behind her and noticed that it was clearly her race to lose.

Todd admitted afterwards that she was more concerned about pacing off the men.

“I knew today wasn’t about time,” Todd said. “It was more about survival and guts and just sticking it out. That’s pretty much what I did.”

Todd is a former All-American runner from Carthage College in Wisconsin. Second place went to Emily Ramsey, also from Kansas City. Todd recalled that she hit the wall with about three miles to go.

“I just kept pushing,” Todd said. “I just told myself it was mental at that point.”

True to its name, the course offers several uphill and downhill challenges. “When I run on a flat course, I can just space out. Today, I had to be focused the entire race,” Todd admitted.

For More: The Kansas City Star