Pittsburgh woman wins top prize at Pittsburgh Marathon

The 15th annual Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon was a day filled with remarkable stories of personal triumph and pure determination as thousands of runners crossed the finished line Sunday morning.

Margo Malone, a Pittsburgh native, took home first place in the women's division of the marathon with a final time of 02:41:56. Malone grew up in the North Hills. Her running career began at St. Teresa's with her mom as her first coach. She held back tears as she hugged her sister after crossing the finish line.

"My mom passed two years ago, so being out here running for her means the world," Malone said. "And I think she'd be happy today and just so proud of the Pittsburgh community and just so happy for all of the support."

It was also a family affair for the men's first place finisher, Tyler McCandless. McCandless is a Pennsylvania native, growing up on the other side of the Keystone State. The Penn State grad was greeted at the finish line by his wife and their two young sons, Jack, 1, and Levi, 3.

"Levi did the kids marathon [yesterday] and it was super fun to do that last mile with him," said the proud father before adding, "From start to finish, from the 5K to the kids race to the marathon, there is just such a great atmosphere to this event."

The course was lined with spectators throughout the day with many making their way out to the streets around 5 Sunday morning. Many of the fans had signs and cheered as they hoped to bring some energy and pep to the athletes competing.

"Pittsburgh is electric, it's got energy," said Bruce Newman, a handcyclist competing on behalf of the Paralyzed Veterans Racing Group.

"A lot of us, we are type A personalities," Newman said. "We had a change of life so this helps us transition to that and gives us something to do. I was an avid runner before the military, and this replaces that."

Newman finished third in the handcycling division of the marathon. He says the Pittsburgh Marathon is a race he always looks forward to.

"The course, it has hills and lots of turns. This is one of the best courses on the circuit," Newman said.

Wesley Kiptoo, the men's first-place finisher in the half marathon, is already planning his return for next year. During Sunday's race, Kiptoo broke the course record, that he set last year, for fastest time in the half marathon. He finished the race this year with a final time of 01:01:21.

"I'm coming back next year and I'm gonna do the same thing," said Kiptoo with a smile. "Pittsburgh is like home for me now."

posted Monday May 8th