The New Jersey Marathon kicked off from Monmouth Park this Sunday
LONG BRANCH -- The 21st annual New Jersey Marathon drew thousands of spectators and participants to the Jersey Shore on Sunday to test the runners' mettle over 26.2 miles.
In a morning that started off relatively pleasant but grew chillier and windy, the 9,000 participants took off in waves from Monmouth Park in Oceanport for the full and half marathons, running through eight Shore towns before finishing in Long Branch.
Along the way there were highs - a marriage proposal - and lows - an almost non-finish, and the crowds, estimated at nearly 6,000, were there to cheer them all on.
"My goal today was to focus on having a marathon pace while doing a half-marathon," said John Raneri of New Fairfield, Ct., the winner of the men's half-marathon. "I nailed it."
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Raneri, who works in retail, said training was like another full-time job for him.
He found himself pushing a bit in the middle, but was reinvigorated when he started chatting a bit with one of the competitors beside him who was wearing a suit and trying to break the world record for running a marathon in that type of garb.
Jeff Powers, 34, a Temple University researcher from Philadelphia, took first place in the men's full marathon, with a time of 2:32:22. Second place went to Michael Gillis, 29, of Buffalo, NY, who finished at 2:32:55 and Dickson Mercer, 35, of Takoma Park, Md., took third place with a tine of 2:34:36.
In the women's full marathon, Annie Onishi, 30, of Westfield, took first place with a time of 2:54:17, followed by Elizabeth Ehrhardt, 23, of Denver, with a time of 2:55:59 and Heather Williams, 41, of Centerport, NY, at 2:58:03.
After the race, Powers, who wore a picture of his dog on his shirt, said this was his 18th marathon. He said he usually trains in the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania and wasn't prepared for how flat this course was.
"I didn't cramp, but I felt like it was going to happen at any minute," he said.
The race wound through Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, Long Branch, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, Asbury Park and Ocean Grove before ending on the oceanfront promenade in Long Branch near Pier Village.
Justin Balzarano said this was his first half-marathon. In a spur-of-the moment decision, he registered the day before the event after agreeing to join some friends. He said he's joining the Army and decided this would be a good way to challenge himself physically.
Things were fine until the 12th mile, Balzarano said, but then things got tough. His time was 2:36, he said.
Jared Cicero, 26, and Tayler Gerchak, 23, got engaged after they crossed the finish line. Cicero, of Pottsville, Pa., had their family and friends waiting at the finish line to witness the event. But they had to wait another 90 minutes when a leg cramp forced Cicero - with Gerchak by his side - to walk the final six miles.
One runner almost didn't make it to the finish line. Collapsing from fatigue about 30 feet from the end, she was at first carried by an emergency medical technician and an organizer, but as the crowds cheered her on, she dug deep and found the strength to walk across the finish line.
NJ Advance Media reporter MaryAnn Spoto contributed to this report.
Erin Petenko may be reached at epetenko@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @EPetenko. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.