Sunshine brings out a full capacity crowd, five course records, multiple qualifiers
CARMEL, Ind. (April 11, 2023) – Under sunshine and ideal racing conditions, the 2023 Carmel Marathon Weekend started with a full capacity participant field and finished with five course records. More than 4,000 participants crossed the start line after traveling to Carmel, Ind. from 40 states and six countries for the event on Saturday, April 8.
With one of the fastest and flattest Midwestern marathon and half marathon courses in the spring, the event attracted its largest elite field in its 13-year history. 208 people, or 22.7 percent of the full marathon field, finished with a Boston Marathon qualifying time, moving the Carmel Marathon Presented by Franciscan Health to fourth on MarathonGuide.com’s list of top Boston qualifier races in 2023. The top 55 women and 75 men qualified for the Boston Marathon, and it took an impressive marathon time of 3:05 to break into the top 100 finishers on Saturday.
Carmel Marathon Presented by Franciscan Health women’s winner Parley Hannan of Scarborough, Maine, broke the course record in her full marathon race debut with a time of 2:33:42. Hannan, along with runner-up and 2022 race winner Peighton Meske of Knoxville, Tenn., also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials by finishing under the women’s standard of 2:37:00.
“This race held a lot of emotion and power for me,” Hannan said. “It’s been a hard couple of years and running has been a huge outlet for me. The night before the race, I looked at the clock at 11:11 and made a wish. Instead of making a wish to qualify, I just wished I would feel good and enjoy the experience. I was able to walk away with both—feeling incredible and loving every moment, and with an Olympic Trials qualifying time!”
On the men’s side, local Carmel resident Jack Beakas broke the Carmel Marathon Presented by Franciscan Health course record in 2:18:18. While he just missed the men’s Olympic Marathon Team Trials standard of 2:18:00, he already has plans to race again in June for another attempt at hitting the qualifier.
“The course was great,” said Beakas. “Being able to run a marathon on the roads I’ve been training on every morning was very rewarding.”
Cynthia Limo of Kenya set a course record in the women’s Carmel Half Marathon in 1:12:08. Limo is a 2016 World Athletics Half Marathon Championship silver medalist and recently returned to U.S. racing after maternity leave.
“The course is very good, the race is operated extremely well, and I was truly made to feel welcome by the other runners and the whole community,” said Limo. “The Carmel course reminded me a lot of the course in Cardiff, U.K., that was used for the Championships in 2016 because Carmel is very clearly marked with not too many turns, and it is very possible to run a fast time in Carmel. I would like to return next year with another elite female runner; we would push each other to run very quick times here.”
Speedy finishes continued throughout the day, with Indianapolis resident Lucy Dobbs breaking her own course record from 2022 in the women’s Indiana Spine Group 10K with a time of 34:48. John Poray of Fishers, Ind., set a new Indiana Members Credit Union 5K course record in 15:45.
Race finishers enjoyed free brunch courtesy of the Indiana Spine Group Pancake Village. Thanks to the sunshine and a live, local band playing at Carmel’s Carter Green, the Boston Beer Company/Truly Hard Seltzer Beer Garden was popular for race finishers and spectators alike long after the race ended.
All 2023 podium finishers can be found here. For full event results, please visit CarmelMarathon.com.
About the Carmel Marathon Weekend:
The Carmel Marathon Weekend features a full marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K, as well as a marathon relay. The Carmel Marathon Presented by Franciscan Health is the second largest marathon in Indiana and the largest running event in the city of Carmel. The event offers a fast course (certified Boston Qualifier) through the popular Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana. To learn more, please visit CarmelMarathon.com.
About CRRG Events:
CRRG Events is an event management and production company with more than 20 years of producing successful running events. Based in Carmel, Indiana, CRRG Events has staged and managed events across 11 states ranging from a 1-mile football halftime race to ultramarathons. For more information, please visit CarmelRoadRacingGroup.com.
Photo credit: Rhi Johns
