After sitting out last years race due to the birth of her daughter, Lisa Thomas came back this year with a vengeance, taking second place honors among women in Sundays 32nd Marine Corps Marathon.The 31-year-old Del Ray resident completed the 26.2 mile course through the streets of Virginia and the District of Columbia in 2 hours, 51 minutes and 40 seconds, improving on her previous personal best time by more than three minutes.
It was a great race and I am happy with how I did, said Thomas while relaxing at home the day after the race. I think I ran a smart race but just couldn’t stay with Kristen (Henehan) at the end. Running together for most of the race, Thomas finished a mere 26 seconds behind the 28-year-old Henehan, a first time marathoner from Silver Spring.
We ran together in a pack but at Haines Point it dwindled down to just the two of us, Thomas said in describing the race. I led around mile 23-25 and feel if I could have created a bigger distance between us there, I think I could have held on to win.
Thomas led up until the final half-mile, when Henehan began her final surge.She got me at the last turnaround and I did my best to stay with her, said a disappointed Thomas. I know she has a strong finish and it was hard to push myself at the end knowing I wasn’t going to win.
Thomas, who placed 91st overall in the field of 30,000 runners, had planned to celebrate her success by taking 14-month old Lucy to the Del Ray Halloween Parade.I had the costume and everything ready, laughed Thomas. But by the time we got home, Lucy needed a nap so we just hung out and had some pizza.Thomas, who now has nine marathons under her belt, is also a competitive triathlete and completed the Hawaii World Championships for the Iron Man triathlon in 2005.
Im not sure if I’ll be back, said Thomas when asked about next year. I would love to win it and wish I could have yesterday, but I’m just not sure what my next challenge is going to be.