Paolo Fiore, a 29-year-old 2017 Siena College graduate who ran cross country for the Saints, won in 2:30:45, and Eliza Kerschner, 35, won the women's division in 2:51:56, perhaps in partly because she didn't see her husband early in the race.
Fiore had a mobile fan club that encouraged him, his wife Paulina, who completed the 42.2 km route by bike.
Kerschner, meanwhile, considered quitting early due to a strained calf, but advised herself to hang on until she saw her husband on the course, and then she felt better and was able to not only finish the race, but also win. .
A few steps behind the wire, Fiore hugged his wife, and Kerschner's husband David and 13-month-old daughter Nora were waiting for her at the finish line.
“It gives me a sense of peace because we do a lot of our runs together and this is my training partner,” Fiore said. “It was nice and familiar. Whenever you sink this deep into the pain cave, you need to have something to keep you sane or keep you in perspective. So it was good to just be able to look at it and say, “Okay.” We are here.”
None of the winners cared about the race conditions.
It was a cool, gray day, but the rain was light, and by the time they got from Schenectady to the Corning Preserve in Albany, the faucet was turned off.
Fiore, a Long Island native who lives with his family in Sleepy Hollow, finished 1:18 ahead of runner-up Brandon Talisesky of High Falls. It was another 2:19 back to Germantown's Dave Vona.
“It was really special,” Fiore said. “I talked to some friends. We saw rain in the forecast which is always a bit of a concern as it can be slippery at times.
“But it's nice and it's not even raining, so it's beautiful. We accomplished it. The terms were right, money wise, and it was amazing.”
At no point did Fiore make a major move.
It was more about maintaining a comfortable pace – “keep the ship steady.”
“I ran out with a few guys who were trying to go 2:35 or lower,” Fiore said. “I know Dave Vona ran it last year and he's been running it for a while. Either way, the first 10 are just a warm-up. You feel each other. I thought, “Hey, I'll take two (miles), you take two.” When you get to 18, that's when you really start racing.
“In tone, you just have to trust your own instincts and pursue it, even though you might be working with people.”
The MHR Marathon was Fiore's third marathon of this distance.
Calling himself a “hobby runner,” he set himself the goal of maintaining a mile pace between 5:40 and 6:00, which he achieved, with a net result of 5:46 for the entire race.
“It's my third marathon and it's the first one I've won, so that in itself is a blessing,” he said. “So much can happen in 40km that you have no control over. So when you ask if there is a plan, there is always a plan until you get punched in the face, so you just have to figure it out.
Fiore called the MHR marathon a “sentimental race” because it was a homecoming of sorts after his days in Siena.
He met up with old friends, visited campus, and the Saints volunteered at the race while he attended Siena.
This was his first experience running MHR.
“This course is the best,” Fiore said. “A bike path, so it doesn't get any better than that. I'll shout out this race to everyone. Today there is Chicago, New York, all these major marathons, but this one has a community feel. There are no frills. Packet pickup is easy. Getting to the start is easy and just lets you run a solid race.
“And you can tell that everyone is really proud to wear it, and there's something special about the sense of community.”
Kerschner, of Old Town, Maine, ran the 2019 MHR Marathon and was 28 seconds faster than Sunday, but she finished second in 2019 to Christine Myers.
Her first marathon after giving birth to her daughter in September 2023 was the Vermont Spring Marathon, and on Sunday she benefited from a better training foundation.
That said, she was ready to retire just 2.2 kilometers into the race when she pulled a calf muscle she had pulled a few days earlier.
Quitting the course made sense when she found her husband on the course, “but by the time I got there I felt better, so I kept going.”
Well, still with one stop.
At mile 11, she took a bathroom break, gave up the lead, but regained it.
The trade-off with the delay was that she felt more comfortable starting again.
“It happens,” she said with a laugh. “I felt like I could do better if I stopped for a minute. A marathon is a long race, so you have plenty of time to catch up.
Alex Corbett, 28, of Worcester, Mass., won the MHR Half Marathon in 1:06.37; The 26-year-old Winter Parts team from State College, Pennsylvania, won the non-binary category with a time of 1:11:59; and 31-year-old Katie Florio from Philadelphia won the women's category with a time of 1:14:16.
