Lopes Earn Two Top 10 Finishes in Age Groups at Weekend Race
By: Taylor Browne/GCU Staff
A new year, but a familiar race.
The Grand Canyon University Running Club ran their first race of the new year at the Humana Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon – which spanned the Phoenix area – on Sunday. This was the Lopes’ second year participating in the race among a sea of over 16,000 runners, and placed two runners in the top ten of their age group.
The Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona Marathon is an annual race to kick start the national Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Series across the United States. This was the 16th anniversary of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona Marathon to raise funds for a variety of charities such as St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Leading the way for GCU was freshman Jackson Reideman, who finished his first-ever full marathon (26.2 miles), and recorded an impressive time at 3:16:45. Reideman placed 5th in his age group (Male 18-24), and took 72nd place out of 1,994 runners overall.
“It was brutal compared to a half-marathon,” Reideman said. “I had family and friends supporting me, and seeing them every couple of miles helped a lot. It was fun, and it was worth it.”
Lopes’ Julia Allen and Kaylee Padour exceeded last year’s times in the half-marathon (13.1 miles). Both crossed the tape next to each other a second apart (Allen at 1:40:56, Padour at 1:40:57). Both Allen and Padour placed in the top 20 of their division.
“They were both aiming to get under a 1:45:00 and did just that,” Sims said. “They are moving in the right direction, and it is good to see their hard work paying off.”
Sims herself also participated in the race alongside her runners. Sims ran the half-marathon and placed 58th out of 615 runners with a time of 2:00:05.
“They all come in ready and prepared to train hard,” Sims said. “They work well together and encourage each other, and really make the most of being together on a team.”
GCU Running Club R’N’R Contenders
| NAME | RACE | AGE GROUP | PLACE | TIME |
| Jackson Riedeman | Full Marathon | M18-24 | 5th | 3:16:45 |
| Elaina Marchegger | Half Marathon | F18-24 | 8th | 1:39:45 |
| Julia Allen | Half Marathon | F18-24 | 11th | 1:40:56 |
| Kaylee Padour | Half Marathon | F18-24 | 12th | 1:40:57 |
| Jenna Miller | Half Marathon | F18-24 | 16th | 1:43:33 |
| Faith Blackburn | Half Marathon | F18-24 | 18th | 1:44:33 |
| Kim Sims | Half Marathon | F45-49 | 58th | 2:00:05 |
The Lopes next race will be on March 16 at the Run to Fight Children’s Cancer at GCU.
Interested in running around GCU? Visit GCU to learn more about campus and events!
