Perfect day for the Little Rock Marathon

Carlos Cordero from Mexico City finished the Little Rock Half Marathon in 1:06:05 to win the ninth annual event. His time is the second-fastest in the history of the Little Rock Maratthon.

“I felt good out there,” Cordero, 35 said through an interpreter. ”The course is beautiful, and the spectators were great. I was hoping to run a little faster, but I had a good time.

This was Cordero’s first time running in the Little Rock event, but he is no stranger to Central Arkansas.

“I lived in North Little Rock for four years, while waiting for a visa,” he explained. “Eventually I went back to Mexico City.”

“I wanted to come to Little Rock in February to train, but it was too cold. Instead, I stayed in Mexico and trained int Guanaiuato in central Mexico, where it is much warmer.

Cordero, who competed in the 2008 Olympics for his native Mexico, will also participate in the London Olympics later this year. Cordero currently has the fastest marathon time in Mexico, a 2:13:15 that he ran in London last year.

Julie Ralston is the female winner of the Little Rock Marathon, Half Marathon with a time of 1:22:57. The 30-year-old from Streator, Illinois, says she thinks she “ran a very smart race on an absolutely perfect day.”

Ralston says she has run “a ton of halfs” but she says this is her first half marathon in about four months. She says she has been running shorter races, and she is very glad she chose Little Rock to run a half marathon.

Ralston runs with team Michelob Ultra and says she is very thankful to them for making it possible to run “such a great event.”

Second place was Vivien Miller, 27, of Sherwood, AR, with a time of 1:26:31

Third place was Erica Viger, 34, of Boulder, CO, with a time of 1:27:04.

Justin Meaders is the winner of the 2012 Little Rock Marathon Wheelchair Division. The 35-year-old from Keller, TX, crossed the finish line in a time of 2:07:07.


10K winners:

1st place: Jeffery Zickus; Atlanta, GA, 36:04
1st place: Amy Burns, Little Rock, AR, 47:42