Whitefish runners beat heat at Missoula Marathon

A strong contingent of local runners beat the heat to finish a grueling Missoula Marathon on Sunday.

Becky Middleton, 37, placed 73rd among women and 17th in her age group after clocking an impressive 3:51:18. She completed the race with a 8:27 per mile pace, even as temperatures climbed into the upper 90s.

Lesa Church, 47, was 114th among women and eighth in her age group with a 3:58:45.

Katrina Larsen, 41, crossed the finish line with a time of 4:11:41, Jill Dryee Seigmund, 44, clocked a 4:45:11, and Jessica Hopkins, 37, finished in 5:04:43.

On the mens side, John Lacey, 43, placed 90th among men and 11th in his age group with a 3:26:39. He ran a 7:25 per mile pace.

Matt Rottenberg, 38, finished with a 4:03:32, and Brian Dennery, 48, clocked a 4:59:12.

Matthew Grizzly Adams of Seward, Alaska won the race with a course record 2:20:27. Nearly 1,600 racers completed the marathon.

In the half marathon, Whitefish runner Nathan Christianson, 23, placed sixth with a 1:13:59. About 4,200 runners completed the half marathon. Christianson won the Whitefish Lake Run 10k in June.

James Rucker placed ninth with a 1:15:02, and Brian Rhodes-Devey was 10th with a 1:15:13.

Rebecca Kyle clocked a 1:39:32 to place 53rd among women.