Former Baldwin track and cross country standout Ryan Sheehan lives in Michigan now, but he still loves to run races in Pittsburgh.
On Sunday, Sheehan found himself racing more against the clock than another person, as he led nearly the entire 13.1 miles en route to winning the inaugural MedExpress Spirit of Pittsburgh Half Marathon.
"I never really ran with anyone, so I didn't look back," said Sheehan, 26. "At one point I heard (my lead) was 40 meters, then it was 80 meters, so I don't really know when it opened up. I spent a lot of time with the guy in the lead car out there."
Sheehan finished in 1:06:13. Second-place finisher Nik Schweikert, 23, of Canton, Ohio, completed the course nearly a minute later in 1:07:01. He was followed by Curtis Larimer, 23, of Oakland, in 1:09:09. Elizabeth Herndon, 24, of State College, was the fastest woman with a time of 1:19:18.
"I went out pretty fast and was by myself the whole time," Herndon said. "I didn't see any other women, but I was around a few of the guys. The race was a little hillier than I expected, but it was a great course. The city was beautiful, and it was nice to have people out cheering."
Just fewer than 3,500 runners registered for the race, with roughly 3,000 finishing.
The course started and ended at the SouthSide Works and wound down Carson Street, across the West End Bridge to the North Side, across the 31st Street Bridge to Downtown, down Liberty and back to the South Side across the Hot Metal Bridge.
Third-place finisher Curtis Larimer, 23, a Pitt grad student, said he ran from his house in North Oakland to the starting line.
"I don't know the guy who won, but he was out straight from the start," Larimer said. "He was solid. I thought if I held back a little bit and ran my race I could come back on him but he was very fit and just stayed out. He was probably in the lead from the first half-mile. I was in third place from a mile all the way to the finish."
Sheehan was the PIAA champion in the 3,200-meter race in 2001 while at Baldwin High School, then went to St. Francis (Pa.), where he was a two-time All-American. He ran with the Michigan-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Program after college and now lives in Kalamazoo, Mich.
This was the first year for the race, which was produced by Ohio-based Run Wild Racing. According to race director Douglas Grout, several people were treated for minor medical issues — such as blisters and scrapes — at the finish line, but there were no major incidents. The race started on time, and everyone stayed on course throughout.
He hopes to continue the event next year.
"I chose Pittsburgh because I love the community. I would love to come back," Grout said. "I'm hoping the city wants us back. Hopefully they felt it went well and have a level of comfort with Run Wild Racing, and we'll be allowed to start this process all over again."
