Tulsa World: Victory is a family event

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Victory is a family event
Men's top two finishers take sons along for the race; OU student sets pace for the women.

Pushing a baby stroller, Zac Freudenburg is the men's winner of Sunday morning's Route 66 Marathon. Rip Stell / For the Tulsa World

By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer
Published: 11/23/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 11/23/2009 9:13 AM

Related Story: Biggest yet

Click here to see Half Marathon results

Click here to see Full Marathon Results

Click here to see Overall results

Zac Freudenburg and Michael Wardian came into Sunday's Route 66 Marathon with thoughts of breaking the Guinness World Record for a marathon while pushing a stroller.

But both elite runners said they never expected to shatter Wardian's previous mark of 2:42:21 or to lead the pack by such a big margin.

"We were training at about two hours, 40 minutes," Freudenburg said.

But the St. Louis native shaved 10 minutes off that time, crossing the 26.2-mile finish line to win the race in 2:32:10, while Wardian finished in second place two minutes later, eclipsing his previous best with a time of 2:34:37.

Third- and fourth-place finishers John Aerni-Flessner and Digger Lauter came in at 2:37:40 and 2:37:29, respectively.

"It's great," Freudenburg said about the world record. "The first part of the course was pretty hilly, but we set a fast pace and were talking quite a bit. The wind was tough, but when we turned we had the wind at our backs. Obviously, it wasn't a slow course or we wouldn't have run that fast."

Said Wardian, "That's a time that might stand for a while. My time was tough, but Zac's time, he was really moving. ... I thought we were only going to run maybe 2:36. But Zac was too strong today for me to keep up. I pushed him as hard as I could. I had some trouble going into the wind. I maintained my pace, he picked his up a little. At about 18 or 19 miles, he just gradually increased his lead."

Freudenburg said pushing 10 1/2-month-old son Liam made the race easier.

"When he starts making noises, it makes you more relaxed," he said. "You are dying at the end, but it's fun. You don't want to push yourself like you might normally because you don't want to pass out and lose control of the stroller."

Wardian's 11-month-old son Grant slept through much of the race.

"He was digging it," Wardian said. "He woke up after the turn and started to make some noise. I was a little scared I was going to have to fish out the sippy cup and some puffs. But he was a solid little dude. At the end, I was just running to get him home. It's a whole different aspect with a child. You don't want to bounce them in potholes. It's just a whole other dimension."

Route 66 Marathon founder Chris Lieberman beamed as the two fathers crossed the line minutes apart.

"Being a part of a record-breaking event is an historic day for the Route 66 Marathon," he said. "We are proud of this event shining a light on Tulsa."

Chelsea Jones, a 20-year-old University of Oklahoma student, set a course record in the women's marathon with a time of 3:00:38 in her first-ever marathon.

The former Watonga state cross country champion only decided to run a marathon two weeks ago.

"Originally, I was going to do the half-marathon with a friend," Jones said. "I was training about 20 miles and decided why not try the marathon.

"The crowd was great. They really pumped me up. I liked the hills. They were fun. I was scared I might hit the wall at the end. But I didn't — I guess I wasn't running a fast enough pace in the middle."

Jones said she entered a pace of 3 hours, 30 minutes in the online registration.

"I guess I did pretty good, huh?" Jones said.

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Lynn Jacobsen 581-8461
lynn.jacobsen@tulsaworld.com By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer

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