Santa Fe’s Paul LeFrancois breaks the tie to win the men’s division of the Duke City Marathon on Sunday. He won in 2 hours, 42 minutes and 47 seconds. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis / magazine)
There is nothing like the real thing.
Yes, the Duke City Marathon held a virtual event a year ago, but organizers, participants, and longtime volunteers clearly preferred a face-to-face event that began Sunday morning at the Civic Center Plaza.
Judging by the almost imperceptible differences in registrations, volunteers, and fans of previous races, one could forget that the world is still in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.
Carlos Navarro, an El Paso resident who has volunteered every year since the race began, meets with many acquaintances he hasn’t seen in two years.
“It’s almost like being in a family,” says Navarro, who volunteers as the finish and start coordinator. “You keep seeing the same people … we haven’t seen them for two years.”
Again, seven races were held, starting with the featured marathon at 7 a.m., and each subsequent race started in 15-minute increments after the marathon.
Paul LeFrancois, a 31-year-old from Santa Fe, won the men’s marathon in his first Duke City outing in five years with a time of 2 hours, 42 minutes and 47 seconds.
Meanwhile, the first-time Duke City participant Erin Wagner from Albuquerque won the women’s marathon in 3 hours, 2 minutes and 34 seconds. Wagner’s goal was ninth overall place among all marathon entries.
“I trained to run a sub-3 (hours),” said Wagner, who recently moved from Chicago to Albuquerque. “I had a minor injury that prevented me from doing long runs and runs at longer pace. I really just wanted to qualify for Boston (marathon) and see how close I could get to three hours. “
Wagner said the early morning conditions, with temperatures fluctuating around 30s, felt almost like home.
And it’s that homely feeling that brings people back every year – participants, volunteers, and fans – said Burt Trembly, board member of the Duke City Marathon.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect because COVID hasn’t gone,” Trembly said.
However, Trembly knew that the racing community’s longstanding loyalty would ensure success when the race was held.
“We really didn’t know for sure (that the race was going to take place) until the last couple of months,” said Trembly. “But the City of Albuquerque worked with us to make sure this was done personally and correctly, and I’ll tell you what, it was better than expected.”
What was perhaps better than expected was LeFrancois’ tremendous performance in his first marathon in two years.
LeFrancois was a candidate for NCAA Division III Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and has continued that competitive spirit into adulthood.
Five years ago, his Duke City marathon time was just over 2 hours and 54 minutes. On Sunday morning, he shook his only previous competitor against half of the race and drove home almost 12 minutes faster than his 2016 time.
“Five years in between (the last race in Duke City) was a big leap,” said LeFrancois.
His last marathon was in Phoenix in 2019, but the year without racing gave him extra time to evaluate his running goals, get back to basics, while renewing his competitive urge.
“It was great to be able to compete again,” said LeFrancois. “The way this course works, you come halfway, turn around and see the other people running. Everyone gave only positive words and thumbs up. I missed that, but I also missed the encouragement and the positive attitude. “
For the past several years, there have been participants in the Duke City Marathon in the range of 4,000. Trembly said entry numbers will be another two weeks, but he expects those numbers to be cheap compared to pre-pandemic totals.
“We’ve tried really hard for the past year and a half to make it a safe but fun race for everyone,” said Trembly. “To be so back and almost normal – with so many people enjoying each other – feels really good.”
The results are available online at www.dukecitymarathon.com.
Erin Wagner breaks the tie on her Sunday debut to win the women’s division of the Duke City Marathon. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis / magazine)
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