Kathleen Jobes, of Bethlehem, wins the St. Luke's Half Marathon for the fourth time

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

For Luke Watson, turning in the best time at the St. Luke's Half Marathon was a new experience.

On the other hand, Bethlehem's Kathleen Jobes is very familiar with conquering the Lehigh Valley race.

Jobes, 41, finished with a top female time of one hour, 20 minutes and 20 seconds and captured her fourth career victory in the 13.1-mile run through Allentown on Sunday morning.

"It was a great race," Jobes said. "The people are so supportive and these guys put on a phenomenal race. I've run a lot of races across the country and this, by far, is my favorite."

Her success is a step in the right direction after suffering a hamstring tear during the winter. She will look to use this momentum as she prepares for the Chicago Marathon in the fall.

Being able to compete in familiar Lehigh Valley surroundings is an experience that Jobes holds dearly.

"You run in your hometown, what's better than that?" she said.

Grete Waitz, the legendary Norwegian distance runner who served as a mentor to Jobes before losing a battle with cancer nearly two weeks ago, was on the mind of the Bethlehem resident during her run.

"We're just lucky to be at the startling line," Jobes said. "(Grete) gave me a couple (items of) advice throughout the years and one of them was 'Kathleen, when you take the lead you better be ready to win.' "

Jobes held a two-minute lead at the 10-kilometer mark and finished four minutes in front of the second-place female competitor, Katie O'Regan.

Watson, in his first time participating in the St. Luke's Half Marathon, finished first overall with a time of 1:10.44, averaging around five minutes, 20 seconds per mile.

"That was my goal to just come in and compete hard and try to go for the 'W'," said Watson who lives in State College, Pa., while working on his doctorate at Penn State. "So, it's good to get that accomplished."

The 30-year-old runner, who was a standout performer at the University of Notre Dame and is a three-time qualifier for the U.S. Olympic trials, was pleased with the course and said that the race atmosphere lived up to the positive reviews he had heard.

"The other participants cheering me along on the (Lehigh Parkway) was amazing," Watson said. "They were great. I totally get what everyone was talking about after having experienced it."

According to Watson, the support of the crowd energized him as he pushed forward.

"It's a thrill because all of a sudden you feel 10 seconds or a mile quicker with no additional effort," Watson said.

Daniel Sobrinski, 35, of Bethlehem, finished eighth overall while Mark Bahnuk, 29, of Hackettstown, and Pen Argyl's Ricky Snyder, 39, finished 12th and 13th, respectively.

Kevin Ford, of Bethlehem, finished 16th overall. Brent Conly, of Easton, a former wrestler and distance runner at Delaware Valley Regional, placed 20th and Dan Morick, of Bethlehem, was behind him in 21st.

Macungie's Kristen Karwacki, 31, finished eighth among the women and Florence Barnes, 32, of Easton, placed ninth. Kathy West, of Bethlehem, finished 24th among female competitors.

The half marathon shattered its previous record of 3,093 finishers with 3,205 participants completing the race.

Through the purchase of $100 entries, more than $10,000 was raised for the American Red Cross disaster relief fund in reply to the natural gas explosion in Allentown on Feb. 9.

MEN'S TOP TEN TIMES

1. Luke Watson, State College, Pa., 1:10.44

2. Phil Reutlinger, Alexandria, Va., 1:12.24

3. David Alcock, England, 1:13.29

4. Jason Bull, Bryn Mawr, Pa., 1:13.48

5. Greg Swiatocha, Mahopac, N.Y., 1:17.25

6. Keith Adams, Alburtis, Pa., 1:19.11

7. Marco Capelli, Collegeville, Pa., 1:19.14

8. Daniel Sobrinski, Bethlehem, 1:19.33

9. Theodore Evans, Olyphant, Pa., 1:19.35

10. R. Reinhard, Emmaus, 1:19.50

WOMEN'S TOP TEN TIMES

1. Kathleen Jobes, Bethlehem, 1:20.22

2. Katie O'Regan, Lebanon, Pa., 1:24.25

3. Christina Mundy, Glenolden, Pa., 1:25.45

4. Dara Fox, Voorhees, N.J., 1:27.50

5. Amy Bower, Hughesville, Pa., 1:27.44

6. Tina Bartholomew, Danville, Pa., 1:28.45

7. Carolyn Simitz, Pittsburgh, 1:29.14

8. Kristen Karwacki, Macungie, 1:30.03

9. Florence Barnes, Easton, 1:31.02

10. Alexandra Swiatocha, Mahopac, N.Y., 1:31.03


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