TAMPA, Fla. — The 2024 Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon was a hard-fought race.
The top two finishers came in neck and neck, with just seconds apart to cross the finish line.
"it's kind of humid here compared to Minnesota. So that was definitely something, but, man, I'm super excited to have that race," said the winner, Adam Mcoller.
Mcoller finished the race in 1:09:48. Just a hair behind him was Matthew Taddeo.
"I've never had a race that close. In a half marathon, usually, it's either a blowout, or I'm usually not that close to the win, too. So it was a lot of fun and exciting to be a race the whole way," Taddeo said.
For the women, Christina Welsh secured her third first-place bid. She completed the race in 1:18:28. She hit a personal record on this course, perhaps due to some intense training.
"I ran the Olympic trials three weeks ago, so I'm still coming off of that," she said. "I placed 59th, which is pretty good. For me, that was like my big goal for the past couple of years was to run that race."
Welsh wasn't the one setting a personal record in the race. Paige Howard, who was second place for the women, also gave her all.
"My PR before this was 1:22-ish. So when I saw that 1:20 as I was coming through, and I think I hit 1:21, it felt good," she said. "I kept thinking, 'Alright, I have to beat this 1:22.' I kept watching the clock, and it felt like it was moving so fast."
