TNT's Michaela Dricoll took the top spot in the female division of the Cox Sports Marathon with a time of 2:56:09. The head coach of Coventry's girls cross country team and the assistant coach of the Oakers girls outdoor track team, Michaela Driscoll showed yesterday that she doesn't just talk the talk. She can also walk the walk - or rather, run the run. The 29-year-old Coventry resident celebrated the second marathon victory of her career.

Having run the SunTrust National Marathon in Washington, D.C., where she placed fourth (2:53:13) just six weeks ago, Driscoll said that she ran yesterday's marathon more as a thank you to race director Charlie Breagy for all that he does for the high school running community. Breagy is also co-director of the New Balance Ocean State High School Cross Country Invitational and the CVS/Caremark Downtown 5K, which includes a High School Inspirational 3K.

I felt good actually until about 23, and it was really just the last three miles or so that were tough

So while Driscoll was running the marathon, Coventry girls outdoor head coach Erica Horlborgen ran the half-marathon, and their high school runners manned one of the water stations along the race route.

"We tried to get them in involved," Driscoll said. "We want them to see that they can run after high school, and that the marathon and half-marathon is an option. So we tried to make it a team event today. I saw (the girls) twice [on the course]. It was wonderful."
Given that she had just run the D.C. marathon in March, Driscoll - the former Michaela Thompson - said she focused yesterday on simply maintaining an even pace, rather than trying to challenge her personal best.

"When it started out, I felt really bad actually for the first few miles," she said. "There was a girl ahead of me, and as she passed me she told me she was just on a training run. So it was nice because I latched onto her, and I knew that she was just doing a training run. And she stayed with me until, I'd say, about 15 or 16 (miles). So it was really nice to run with someone, and I felt much better in the middle portion of the marathon. I felt good actually until about 23, and it was really just the last three miles or so that were tough."

Author: Carolyn Thornton

Source: projo.com