Thaindian News

This Sunday, the streets of San Francisco was flooded with people as everyone turned up to be a part of the San Francisco Marathon 2009. All the runners about to participate in the event had lined up everywhere. It was a sight to behold and the excitement was palpable and apparent.

The events scheduled for the Marathon were, the full marathon, 2 half marathons, 5k and a Progressive Marathon event. This year, the top titles of the line honors were claimed by 28 year old Texan Andrew Cook and 30 year old Japanese runner Yoko Shibui, for yesterday’s race. Andrew made a dash to the finish line in 2 hours 26 minutes and 32 seconds; Yoko managed the same feat in 2 hours 46 minutes and 34 seconds.

In the men’s event, Guillermo Gonzalez came in second and his recorded time was 2:33:55. He was followed home by Fritz Van De Kamp, whose time was 2:34:01. In the women’s event, it was Yvonne Galus, who finished at the second spot at 2 hours 49 minutes and 21 seconds. Julia Mallon came in third to round up the ranks of the first three. Her recorded time was 2:59:32.

A huge turnout of almost 20,000 runners was present at this year’s San Francisco Marathon. The event has been held periodically since 1977 annually. The top runners did get some good practice in this year’s event that would be useful for them in the upcoming Berlin Marathon in August. The vent’s unique Cause to Run program has been successful in raising over $10 million for local non-profit organizations since way back in 2003.