Brian Shelton and Amanda Luksetich each won their first career half marathons at the Patrick Henry Half Marathon held in perfect summer running conditions in Ashland, Virginia.  Temperatures were in the low 60s for the 7:00 a.m. race start.

Shelton, 29, of Richmond, who made his decisive move four miles into the race from a three-man lead group, won by well over a minute in 1 hour 17:37 seconds for his first half marathon victory.

“There was a downhill around mile four,” said Shelton.  “I attacked going down and I just didn’t let up going up the other side.  They couldn’t stay with me.  This is my first half marathon win and hopefully not my last.”

Richmond’s Gerrit Labuschagne, 46, was second in 1 hour 19:09 seconds, while Daniel List, 42, of Powhatan, was third at 1 hour 19:34 minutes.

Luksetich, 26, a winner of two marathons in 2007, the Oklahoma City Marathon and the Marshall University Marathon, claimed her first career half marathon by almost four minutes with a time of 1 hour 25:25 minutes.
“The party zone in Ashland definitely helped,” said Luksetich, who responded to the cheers of the early morning fans.  “I noticed it was my fastest mile.”

Michelle Mudge-Riley, 31, of Glen Allen, VA, was second at 1 hour 29:02 minutes, followed by Holly Baker Wong, 29, of New Kent, VA, who took third at 1 hour 31:41 minutes.

The event, which is organized by the Richmond Road Runners Club and the Sports Backers and is now in its second year, had 1,153 runners registered.  The race is named for Hanover County’s famous Colonial-era patriot, Patrick Henry, who proclaimed the Revolutionary War’s rallying cry, “Give me liberty or give me death.”  The course covers territory that Henry trod during his lifetime.

For more information on the Patrick Henry Half Marathon, call Mike McCormick at 804-901-9047 or go to http://www.sportsbackers.org

- Submitted by SportsBackers.org