SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of runners, joggers and walkers all came together to run the final act of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series.
The half- and full-marathon started around 7 a.m. Sunday, and while all runners rocked the course, two participants were from New Braunfels.
On the men’s side of the half-marathon, Florida resident Calahan Warren came in first with a time of 1:07:54.
“It was awesome. Like all the music and everything, of course, was beautiful. Just nice and smooth. Not too many hills, not too many turns," Warren said.
New Braunfels resident Natosha Rogers came in first for the women’s side in the half-marathon with a time of 1:09:49.
“I’m pretty happy. I did not want to do this yesterday, but you just got to get out there and do it,” Rogers said.
In the full marathon, New Braunfels resident Jacob Buhler took the overall men’s side win with a time of 2:29:29.
“It was phenomenal. I had a lot of good support from family and friends, which means a lot to me. And then that last quarter mile stretch where there were tons of people cheering me on, I kind of let out a big celebratory cry. And I’ll never forget that moment. It felt good,” Buhler said.
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana resident Courtney Olivier was the first woman to finish the full marathon with a time of 2:47:40.
“It’s worth it. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to challenge you in ways you didn’t think you would be challenged, be able to overcome it, but you just got to go for it because it is rewarding and you will feel just like empowered by the end. Like you can do whatever life throws at you,” Olivier said.
Janelle Saenz, an avid runner, ran the half marathon while five months pregnant.
“Basically, pregnancy is a full marathon itself. So you can say I’m running like a full and a half,” Saenz said.
While dedicated to running, Saenz said what drew her back to the race this year was that it was the final Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon. She’s run in it for multiple years and is sad to see the event go, but she is looking forward to the future of the upcoming San Antonio marathon.
“It’s just a community thing. It’s fun to see everybody run and kind of motivate each other,” Saenz continued.
