BENTONVILLE — Taylor Surly saw an early lead evaporate in the Bentonville Half Marathon on a breezy Saturday morning, but the 23-year-old made a late charge to win the race for the second consecutive year.
Bentonville Running Festival
Half Marathon Results
1, Taylor Surly 1:14.12.9
2, Taylor Mounts 1:14.41.0
3, Marcus Trevino 1:17.20.2
4, Drew Conner 1:17.32.8
5, Brandon Payne 1:19.36.1
6, Ryan Yarnall 1:19.43.8
7, J.D. Wells 1:19.55.2
8, Jarrett Sanders 1:20.26.0
9, Matt Blaty 1:21.05.8
10, Matt Martin 1:21.31.3
5K Results
1, Brody Hill 16:59.2
2, Christin Wurth-Thomas 17:26.3
3, Ryan Graziani 19:10.7
4, Ian Rogenski 19:11.9
5, Connor Disney 19:27.7
6, Abrena Rine 19:36.5
7, Crysty Terminella 20:24.8
8, Ben Wylie 20:37.4
9, Alex Graziani 20:41.6
10, Craig Tompkins 20:42.3
Complete Results
Go to www.race-wizard.com
Surly, who teaches physical education at Bright Field Middle School in Bentonville, was able to overtake friend Taylor Mounts in the final stages of the race and win the 13.1-mile race in a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, 12.9 seconds.
“I was trying to close the gap and keeping my fingers crossed I could catch him on the hill,” Surly said.
Mounts, who finished 28 seconds behind Surly, said that’s exactly what happened.
“He got me. He’s a strong runner, and he got me,” Mounts said. “I have been injured, and I haven’t run anything longer than 12 miles. It was a good race.”
Surly’s winning time this year was more than three minutes faster than last year’s time. His winning time a year ago of 1:17.30 would have been only been good enough for fourth this year.
Jenn Valentine was the first female to cross in a time of 1:28.33.1. The 34-year-old mother of two, who ran track in college at Penn State, was pleased with her performance, after struggling in the race a year ago.
“I had the flu and ran like 1:49,” Valentine said. “It wasn’t very good. This year was good. I was under 1:30.”
The race is part of the third annual Bentonville Running Festival. Proceeds help the Bentonville Parks and Recreation Department.
Brody Hill, Bentonville sophomore, won the 5K race in 16:59.2, while Christin Wurth-Thomas, a former Olympian and Arkansas Lady Razorback, was the first female to cross in the 5K in 17:26.3.