CHARLESTON — Newberry men’s cross country runner Connor Roudabush ran in the Charleston Marathon (26.2 miles) over the weekend, placing third in his age group and 35th overall.

The senior from Goose Creek topped a personal-best time of 1:29:10 in the half marathon.

Roudabush ran the complete marathon in a time of 3:17:57. He ran with an average mile time of 7:33. It was the first full marathon Connor has ever run, although he has competed in three other half marathons.

“I chose the Charleston Marathon because it’s close to home and all the proceeds from it goes toward helping the arts programs in the Charleston County schools,” said Roudabush. “It was also very reassuring to have friends from home running the race and my family cheering me on throughout the course.

“The race truly humbled me as a runner,” he added. “I was running six-minute miles through mile 18 then, I hit the wall so to speak. I underestimated how much of a challenge it was and realized afterwards how big of an accomplishment is it to complete 26.2 miles. Finishing third in my age group was still a great feeling of accomplishment for me though.”

Phil Peterson, Newberry cross country head coach, helped Roudabush prepare for the race.

“I worked on setting up a short two-month training schedule for him to bridge the gap between our NCAA Region meet in early November, to his first solo marathon event this past weekend in Charleston,” said Peterson. “This was definitely a great effort on his part.”

Roudabush has started training for the Ironman Maryland in October. An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile run, raced in that order and without a break.

Newberry College student Connor Roudabush finished third in his age group in the Charleston Marathon.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_16196196_10210488404960890_41801129_o.jpgNewberry College student Connor Roudabush finished third in his age group in the Charleston Marathon. Courtesy photo

Staff Report