County residents run in Indy 500 Mini-Marathon

Also finishing the Mini from Winamac were Rick Grisel, Randy Fox, Samantha Pugh, Lisa Larkin, Brent Larkin, Jason Hague, Mike O'Connor, Stacey Mrak, Steve Dobson, Kristen Alexander, John Alexander, Lindsey Fox, Jennifer Alexander, Mike Pugh, Sarah Beck, Katherine Younger, Beth DeKoninck, Carolyn Watts and Thomas Watts.

Six runners from Francesville also participated in the mini-marathon. They were Bryce Kappes (1:58:08), Paul Keller, Kamrein Street, Meleita Street, Sally Sharpe and Dianna Maxwell. Running from Medaryville were Steve DeMoss and Kim Gilbert.

Participating from Star City were Shanna Bonnell (1:34:00), Tabitha Halleck, Taylor Halleck and Michael Alexander. Heather Wheeler of Kewanna also completed the race.

The 500 Festival News service reports that a pair of familiar faces sprinted to the finish to win the men’s and women’s races in the 2010 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis. Janet Cherobon made it four wins by edging out Belainesh Zemedkun near the finish, while Festus Langat won his second straight OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon by pulling away from a three-man race down the stretch.

Cherobon, a Kenyan native who lives in Rome, Ga., has won several marathons this year. Her college resumé includes collegiate national championships in the 5,000-meter outdoor and 10,000-meter outdoor; she will be inducted in the NCAA Division III Track and Field Hall of Fame later this month. But winning in Indianapolis is special for Cherobon. “I am just so proud of myself, and I’m ready to come back next year,” she said. “I love it. The crowd is so amazing. I can’t imagine going to a different race than this one.”

The weather cooperated, in a way. While temperatures were in the high 40s during the race, skies were cloudy and wind gusts topped 30 miles per hour, making for cold conditions. But the conditions didn’t affect the 31-year-old Cherobon, who won in a record time of 1:10:59 – well below her 2009 winning time of 1:12.22. “Everyone’s got to run in the wind,” she said. “I just get in there ... and just see what happens. This is what I got."