Top finishers hit brakes as conditions sap energy

Like everybody else who competed in Saturday's Jacob Wells 3 Bridges Marathon in Little Rock, top finishers Tyler Pake and Tia Stone worked up a good sweat.

At 7 a.m., a field of 403 began their journey with temperatures nearly 40 degrees higher than typical for a mid-December morning in central Arkansas. The day before at the same time, it was 31 in Little Rock, as it should be eight shopping before Christmas.

It was partly sunny and 74 when Pake crossed the finish line first overall in 2:58.14. Stone was next in 3:08:33, after which she almost immediately collapsed into the arms of her husband John Stone.

She said had she known through the final few miles that dehydration had extracted a high toll. As proof, she would spend much of the next hour prone in a medical trailer to rehydrate.

"I was just praying to God that I could finish, and then I could collapse," Stone said.

Stone said she also consumed packages of energy gel every 4 or 5 miles but that nothing proved adequate to compensate for the weather. Leg cramps began to limit her in the final miles, and then classic symptoms of dehydration appeared, including chills and a lack of perspiration.

"I immediately adjusted my pace a lot," said Stone, 38 of Searcy, who entered as the defending women's winner. "I slowed down at least 15 or 20 seconds a mile, and I held on as long as I could. I was trying to get water or Gatorade every other mile."

The 67-degree temperatures with 97-percent humidity forced runners to improvise along the way.

Pake, 33, of Cary, N.C., said he came into the race wanting to break 2:50, but he soon realized a sub 3-hour finish was a more realistic, though still difficult target.

"It was a lot warmer than what I expected," Pake said. "It was definitely a struggle. I was getting really tired, really quick."

Pake's fastest marathon time is 2:49:52, but his 3 Bridges finish in 2:58.13 was his first marathon victory.

"I really wanted to win one at some point," he said. "I'm really pleased, thrilled that I accomplished that today, and this is a great race. I really enjoyed the course."

Erika Setzler, 24 of Conway, finished third overall and second among women in 3:13:20. Christina Marin, 32 of Allston, Mass., was third among women in 3:28:40.

The unseasonable warmth impacted Setzler as well as Stone.

"I had to get water and Gatorade at every single aid station," Setzler said. "And normally I just sip on it, but I was having to chug everything because I could feel the dehydration coming on."

Lance Lowrey, 34 of Dierks, finished second among men in 3:25:41. Craig Forrest, 41 of Little Rock, was third in 3:25:50.

Forrest used his positive split time as evidence of the warm weather's effect. He went through the first half in 1:37:06 and the second almost 12 minutes slower.

"I quit trying to run hard between miles 15 and 16," he said. "I thought, 'It's just too hot. I'm just going to try to enjoy the rest of this race.' "

The race was Setzler's first marathon attempt. She said Stone was in her sight early, but that as she neared the midway point, thoughts of winning subsided.

"My legs started getting heavy at about mile 12, and I was like, well, I'm not going to try to keep up with her anymore," Setzler said.

Pake said he would consider a return trip for the race.

"I might be back," he said. "This is a very nice, a very pretty course. I just hope if I do, it's a little bit cooler next time."

Sports on 12/18/2016