A 39-year old woman made Grand Strand history Saturday morning winning the 14th annual Myrtle Beach Marathon. Kathleen Castles from New Providence, New Jersey ran a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes and 11 seconds. Castles time was more than two and a half minutes faster than the top male finisher, Billy Shue from Charlotte, North Carolina. Shue's time was 2 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds. Castles victory marks the first time a female has won the overall championship at the Myrtle Beach Marathon. Castles time qualifies her for the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Last year's marathon was snowed out. This year, the event was run in near perfect conditions in downtown Myrtle Beach. Around 3,000 runners competed in the full 26.2 mile marathon, 4,000 ran in the half marathon division.
