Camden Catholic graduate Kevin McDonnell ran a big personal-best 1:04.53 and placed 14th out of more than 2,400 runners Sunday morning in the Philadelphia Distance Run half marathon.
McDonnell, a Moorestown native now living in Cherry Hill, finished just four minutes behind winner Panuel Mkungo, a Delaware-based Kenyan who ran a 2:10.20 marathon earlier this year in Duluth.
McDonnell averaged 4:57 per mile for 13.1 miles. He came through 5K in 15:03, 10K in 30:45 and 10 miles in 49:31.
The race starts and finishes at Eakins Oval near the Art Museum in Fairmount and the course is mainly an out-and-back along Martin Luther King Boulevard to the Falls Bridge
McDonnell’s previous half marathon PR was a 1:07.26 in last year’s Philadelphia Distance Run, so he shaved more than 2 ½ minutes off that performance.
At St. Joe’s, McDonnell set track PRs of 14:03.52 for 5,000 meters and 29:16.01 for 10,000 meters, which remains a school record.
Also, Sterling graduate Jimmy Daniels, who also ran at St. Joe’s, placed 25th in 1:07.42, Shawnee grad Eric Reitinger was 42nd and 5th in the men’s 35-39 age group in 1:11.30, Brett Milden of Mullica Hill ran 1:12.23 for 50th with Haddonfield’s Joseph Norton one spot back in 51st in 1:12.17 and 6th in the men’s 35-39 age group.
Michael Iannotta from Cherokee and ran 1:13.00 for 57th overall and 4th in the 20-24 age group, and Shawnee grad Jack Ennis was 65th in 1:13.43 and 6th in the 20-24 division.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 