First full marathon try puts Las Vegas resident second among women

Ramona Sanchez ran the half-marathon event in last year's Las Vegas Marathon, finishing a respectable third in the women's field.

This year, the Las Vegas resident decided it was time to conquer the 26.2-mile distance. But she hardly expected an even better result.

Sanchez took second overall among the women in just her first attempt at a marathon, crossing the finish line at Mandalay Bay in 2 hours, 56 minutes, 33 seconds. Elite Russian runner Nadezhda Tuptova was the only woman to beat Sanchez, with a time of 2:48:20.

"I couldn't believe it," Sanchez said through an interpreter. "At mile 9, they told me I was in second place, and I was ecstatic. I really focused after that.

"At mile 20, I started looking around for other women, even though my habit is not to look around."

There was no competition for her to see, though, with Tuptova well ahead and Beth Gerdes of Carlsbad, Calif., ultimately finishing third almost seven minutes behind Sanchez, in 3:03:19.

"I never thought I was going to finish second," she said. "I just wanted to see how I'd do against the elite field, just rub elbows with them. And I wanted to break three hours."

She did all that and a little more. As the second-place woman, she earned $4,000, and she's slated to receive another $3,000 as the top Clark County female.

"I just thank God for finishing my first marathon," said Sanchez, while noting she never doubted she'd finish. "I would've crawled if I had to, but I would've finished. I had no difficulties, I had no pains or anything, until I finished."

• HALF-MARATHON -- Emisal Favela of Cicero, Ill., rolled to victory in the concurrent half-marathon, finishing in 1:09:48, almost three minutes ahead of second-place finisher Jake Puzey of Hermiston, Ore. (1:12:38).

Canadian runner Cheryl Murphy took the women's title in 1:18:51, with Lisa Veneziano of Fenton, Mich., a distant second in 1:25:02.

Among locals, Matt Wiltse was the top male, taking fifth in 1:14:09, and Leslie Myers was the top female, in sixth at 1:33:29.

• BY THE NUMBERS -- Race officials said 47 countries were represented in the event, and among the approximately 15,000 participants, there were 178 runners dressed as Elvis.

There were 47 couples who either got married or renewed their vows at the run-thru wedding chapel, and there was one proposal at the finish line. She said yes.

• WELL-HEELED RUNNER -- Zhenya Nichols of Lutz, Fla., likely woke up this morning with the sorest feet of anybody in the field.

Nichols, putting style far before comfort, ran the half-marathon in 5-inch platform heels, covering the 13.1-mile course in 3:22:51.

"Sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," said Nichols, a 47-year-old Russian who moved to the United States in 1990.

After her effort on the course, Nichols stepped in to serve as the interpreter for women's marathon winner and fellow Russian Nadezhda Tuptova.

Contact Patrick Everson at peverson @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0353.