Little Rock Marathon: Nine Years Strong

The Little Rock Marathon has been going strong for nine years and today, timing was just as important as having fun. The post race party is where runners and supporters go to celebrate an epic completion. Six thousand people ran. One woman and one man led the pack by finishing first but everyone that crossed the finish line is a winner.

Runner Josh Taylor exclaims, "We want the medal, that big medal! I mean, honestly." The lure of the Little Rock Marathon medal is enough to bring six thousand people from all over to compete in the city's ninth race, including Taylor and his team from Missouri. He continues, "We are branding each other. It's team camaraderie."

Runners brought their sense of creativity with them, like this group of goddesses called the Bradford Steeley Golden Girls, who say, "It's got a Greek theme this year. So, we're going with a Greek theme. We're Greek goddesses. I'm surprised I had to tell you that."

Once the last car was towed, the race started at 8:00 a.m. Runners doing the full marathon were looking at 26.2 miles. Just because the half is less, doesn't make it any easier. A runner passed by and yelled, "I'm ready to finish!"

Speaking of the big finish, Little Rock's Leah Thorvilson beat her time in last year's marathon to finish first in the women's division for the third year in a row, but not without a little doubt. Thorvilson says, "Those last six miles were nerve racking. I was just going, 'I'm not going to get it. I'm not going to get my third victory.'"

Thorvilson did get the win and she will go on to compete in the 2012 Olympic trials. Another runner you should know about is 74-year-old Betty Williams who has completed four marathons and twenty-seven half marathons.