Rutford, Sutter Make LRC History

The California International Marathon is known for Olympic Trials Qualifiers (2:19:00 for Men, 2:45:00 for women), and the vent took place this past Sunday (12/2/18) in Sacramento under near perfect conditions.  Johnny Rutford and Hayley Sutter made the trip with high expectations, and their performances did not disappoint.  The two Southeast High School (Lincoln, NE), Nebraska Wesleyan Alum, LRC Racing members continued with their similarities, as both ran extremely consistent throughout the 26.2 miles. Johnny, bouncing between 5:15 and 5:16 pace, while Hayley slowed down by mere seconds over the last few miles.

Johnny ‘s finish of 2:17:57 placed him 38th overall, while Hayley’s finish of 2:45:00 was good enough to just eke inside the Top 100 (100th place).  Johnny improved his marathon PR by nearly 3.5 minutes since last year’s CIM event, while Hayley improved her PR by 7.5 minutes since just this past January! Johnny was well under the Olympic Qualifying “B” standard of 2:19:00, while Hayley came in just past the qualifying (gun) time of 2:45:00 (by running 2:45:07). USATF does allow for an exemption for athlete’s who are extremely close, and Hayley’s time seems to fall into that category. A close eye will be kept on whether Hayley’s time will be accepted or not.

Regardless, Johnny was the first male from Nebraska to qualify in over a decade, running what is possibly the fastest marathon by a current Nebraska resident (if this is wrong, please let us know!). Johnny and Hayley, respectively, are the first two Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers in the history of LRC, and we could not be more proud to have them represent us on the starting line!

Congratulations Johnny and Hayley!