Running his first ever marathon, Lanier Wood of Mobile, Alabama, crossed the finish line of the 10th Magnolia Marathon in first place overall on Saturday morning.
Wood finished with a time of 3:15, which was more than seven minutes faster than second place finisher Ash Stevens of Picayune. Lindsey Norris, who finished third overall, was the first female runner to finish. Norris, who came down from Madison, Mississippi, ran a 3:30 marathon.
Dalton Atchison of Fort Wayne, Indiana, came in first in the half marathon with a time of 1:21, while Avery Briggs of Pensacola, Florida, was the first female to finish the half marathon.
Briggs came in seventh overall with a time of 1:36. In total, 35 runners finished the marathon, while 125 runners completed the half marathon.
Wood, who turned 40 this past year, considered running a 40-mile race instead of the marathon, but he decided to start small and work his way up. He said he loves running and just wanted to try a race.
“I was looking for a Saturday one, and we live down in Mobile, and it looked like a fun race. People talked about how it had a local feel, which is cool,” Wood said. “(My race was) great. Beautiful weather. It was hard for the second half, but I didn’t really know what to expect, so it was fun to just get there and find out what that second half of running hard is like.”
The runners braved near freezing temperatures and a hilly course on Saturday morning. Briggs said the course was pretty, but it was also the toughest, hilliest course she has ever run. Wood said he loved the challenge that the hills presented because he grew up in a hilly part of Birmingham.
“It was a beautiful, challenging course. A lot of hills. Normally that suits me well, but today, not so much,” Stevens said. “It was brutal. I started feeling sick at mile nine, so to finish, I’m pretty thankful.”
The runners were not the only ones fighting the cold. The numerous race volunteers who handed out water and held directional signs came bundled up.
Wood said all of the volunteers out on the race route were nice and encouraging. Race volunteers Marley Foi and Braelee Fox, who came out to do community service for Debs Social Service Club, said they like volunteering because they get to watch the runners.
“It takes a lot of courage to get out here in the cold,” Foi said. “We just admire them.”