Kevin Betts didn’t leave anything to chance Sunday in the Boston or Bust marathon at Ditto Landing in south Huntsville.
The 45-year-old speedster from Lacey’s Spring won the last-chance Boston qualifier by 13 minutes, finishing in a time of 2:43:38. That easily makes the 3:20 qualifying time for his age group as required by the Boston Marathon. Betts had splits of 1:05:12 at the 10.5-mile mark, 1:20.19 at the 13.1-mile halfway point and 2:27:42 at the 23.6-mile checkpoint going into the final surge.
The top six finishers, as shown on the constantly-updated live timing, all qualified for Beantown. The 128th Boston Marathon will be on April 15, 2023.
Alison Wells, 26, was the first female to cross the line at Ditto Landing, breaking the sensor at 2:58:53. Christina Pichiarello, 30, was second (11th) in 3:21:48. Ali Temple, 36, was third (12th) in 3:23:49.
Second- and third-place in the men’s division was a definite “who was it?” finish at the line. Reese Walker, 29, crossed in 2:56:08 to claim runner-up honors. He nipped Peyton Ewoldt, 23, who timed 2:56:20.
Results will continue to update so refresh during the day, but see the Boston or Bust Marathon results here.
The event was staged by Running Lane Events. The marathon out-and-back route took runners from Ditto Landing by the Tennessee River along the Aldridge Creek Greenway through south Huntsville and back. The concrete course is flat, lending to fast times.
Conditions at the start included comfortable temperatures and overcast skies that deteriorated as a thunderstorm moved in about 7:30 or so. It began pouring rain a little after 8 a.m., and dissipated the creepy no-wind-it’s-too-quiet feeling. It continued to rain throuout the morning as storms rolled in from the southeast.
