Will Norris, Jane Bareikis wins the twin cities marathon

Will Norris was determined to be an athlete when he was a child. The only problem was that he was bad in sport. He tried hockey, baseball and football, but he “was so un coordinated”.

However, Norris marked the cross-country meetings of his older brother and one day, he decided to try to run himself.

This persistence transported Norris, 30, from Charlottesville, Virginia, to the victory Sunday in the 43rd marathon of twin cities. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 39 seconds – 25 seconds ahead of the upper candidate Tesfu Tewelde, 28, from Arizona. The notable Kenyan runner Bernard Kipkemoi Rotich finished third.

“It’s just stuck,” said Norris about the race. “I guess I really like individual sport. I really like being able to see myself progressing over time and being outside and turning off my brain. ”

Norris grew up near the border of Iowa-Minnesota and is now working as a commercial apprentices at the University of Virginia, training around her full-time job. His wife, Cleo Boyd, ran in the 10 -mile Sunday race. His father is Norris racing coach.

“Will wakes up, will work, go home, take a nap, gets up and takes place,” said Boyd. “It is not a chore but something he can do at the end of the day.”

Boyd said that her husband’s race career had been marked by breakthroughs and reverse.

“His first marathon, he qualified for the Olympic trials, and it was huge for him,” she said. “He ran 2:18 – I think it was in 2019. And then he qualified again for trials in 2024, but he had a characteristic, and that did not go well.”