Ideal weather greets more than 2,500 runners at Sunday's Seven Bridges Marathon [photos]

Runners emerge from the darkness as the 7 Bridges Marathon gets under way before dawn Sunday.  The 7 Bridges Marathon and 4 Bridges Half Marathon, along with a 5K run were held simultaneously Sunday October 16, 2016 along the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.
Runners emerge from the darkness as the 7 Bridges Marathon gets under way before dawn Sunday. The 7 Bridges Marathon and 4 Bridges Half Marathon, along with a 5K run were held simultaneously Sunday October 16, 2016 along the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.

Top Seven Bridges Marathon finishers

Male1. Jake Moe, Anchorage, Alaska, 2:48:092. Joshua McClung, Irondale, Ala., 3:01:113. Jordan Peters, Nashville, 3:02:24Female1. Amanda Hardcastle, Lenoir City, Tenn., 3:17:372. Hannah Cutshall, Johnson City, Tenn., 3:21:193. Lorna Wilson, Chattanooga, 3:29:09Male half marathon1. Hunter Hall, Brentwood, Tenn., 1:15:532. Brian Post, Cumming, Ga., 1:22:563. Michael Conkel, Forsyth, Ga., 1:24:28Female half marathon1. Hope Goodpasture, Soddy-Daisy, 1:32:312. Lauren Howell, Birmingham, Ala., 1:37:283. Katherin Vannoy, Chattanooga, 1:39:47

The weather was unseasonably warm for yet another Chattanooga race.

It was considerably more tolerable this time, however, as an Alaskan managed to outlast his pursuers to take top honors in Sunday's Seven Bridges Marathon.

Just three weeks after a record-setting heat wave wreaked havoc on Ironman Chattanooga competitors, mild mid-October temperatures provided an ideal setting for the sixth annual marathon that showcases the city's Tennessee River crossings.

Overcast skies, a light breeze and temperatures in the upper 60s welcomed more than 2,500 5K, half marathon and full marathon participants from around the area and the country.

The day's high temperature eventually climbed to 82 degrees - 10 degrees above average - but even the final participants were done by that point, and the weather wasn't what bothered winner Jake Moe.

"On mile 18 I had swallowed something wrong and was dry heaving for a while," the 32-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, resident said. "That wasn't pretty, but I was able to pick it back up."

Moe's time of two hours and 48 minutes earned him the second marathon win of his career and a hug from his daughter, Samantha, on the victorious side of the finish line. Moe's wife, Brynn, and the couple's 1-year-old twins also made the trip.

"Sacrifice and teamwork," he said of the balance in training while raising a family. "That's the hardest part. We take turns. I'm running this weekend, and next weekend we're going to Myrtle Beach for Brynn to run a half marathon."

Amanda Hardcastle took top honors among female competitors in her second-ever marathon.

"I did not think I was going to win," she said. "My first marathon, I bonked terribly at mile 23. So I just didn't want to bonk. That was my goal.

"I've always run, so it's just been a matter of adding the distance."

The half marathon was named the Desmond Doss Memorial Half Marathon in honor of the Medal of Honor recipient whose story is featured in the upcoming film, "Hacksaw Ridge."

Doss, who lived much of his life in Rising Fawn, Ga., received the Medal of Honor for his work as a medic during World War II.

A table was set up in the race's Coolidge Park expo area showcasing the supplies that Doss would have carried during the war.

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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