‘Where are all the men?’ Stillwater woman tops all to shatter Kansas marathon record
As McKale Montgomery raced to the finish line at the Prairie Fire Marathon in downtown Wichita on Sunday morning, her mother was watching at the finish line with a question in mind.
“Where are all the men?”
Montgomery, a 36-year-old from Stillwater, Okla., was wondering the same thing when she finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 47 seconds.
What she was told after she finished astonished her. First, she had shattered the Kansas state record for a woman’s marathon — breaking Wichita native Raquel Rios-Reed’s previous standard by more than five minutes.
Even more impressively, Montgomery was the first marathon runner — male or female — to finish Sunday’s race. The male winner finished more than eight minutes later.
“It was so surprising to me, to be honest,” Montgomery said. “It was much warmer than I would have hoped, so that was super neat to (beat all the men). I started getting so hot at the halfway point that I stopped checking my watch for the time. I didn’t even realize I was running that fast until the cyclist that was riding with me told me that I was in the lead overall with just a couple of miles left.
“Honestly, I owe the cyclist because it was really good motivation. Otherwise, I felt like I was kind of falling apart. That motivated me to finish strong.”
On paper, Montgomery’s time wasn’t surprising — it was less than a minute off her previous-best time. But considering the conditions in Wichita on Sunday morning — with temperatures topping 80 degrees by the end — it was perhaps her most impressive performance in her running career.
Montgomery said the course set up, which is the same loop twice, played to her advantage because she could tell in her mind where she was and how much energy she needed to save. She found a new resolve at the 21-mile mark when she ran through a section of the course with pictures of military veterans who had died in war.
“I knew as soon as I got to that point that I had to dig down,” Montgomery said. “I was just grateful to be running. You forget about the fact that it hurts and it’s hot and you’re just grateful to be there.”
Zouhair Talbi, a 25-year-old from Oklahoma City, won the men’s half-marathon in 1:06:33, while Kristen Comment, a 46-year-old from Kansas City, won the women’s half-marathon in 1:28:39.
Prairie Fire Marathon
Marathon
Men’s overall—1. Benjamin Kassel, Davidson, N.C., 2:47:48; 2. Grant Alexander, Wichita, 2:48:51; 3. Bryant Keirns, Stillwater, Okla., 2:50.45. 20-24—Joshua Nieves, Wichita, 2:58:26. 25-29—Jacob Anderson, Edmond, Okla., 2:54:29. 30-34—Jordan Greenberg, Vernon Hills, Ill., 3:04:44. 35-39—Leroy Allen, Wichita, 2:59:04. 40-44—Michael Bartkoski, Lenexa, 3:02:47. 45-49—Chris Torres, Olathe, 2:58:08. 50-54—Arturo Leal, Emporia, 3:20:00. 55-59—Fil Faria, Tewksbury, Mass., 3:26:19. 60-64—Bryan Baroffio, Grand Junction, Colo., 3:27:38. 65-69—Jim Parham, Perry, Okla., 4:32:00. 70-74—Paul Shimon, Winfield, 5:45:54. 75—Mike Fleming, Omaha, Neb., 6:21:50.
Women’s overall—1. McKale Montgomery, Stillwater, Okla., 2:39:47; 2. Amy Davidson, Mission, 2:56:34; 3. Elizabeth Burch, Mission Hills, 3:17:29. 20-24—Reagan Roth, Bentonville, Ark., 3:59:11. 25-29—Abi Wilson, Lenexa, 3:21:11. 30-34—Kendall Schellhorn, Wichita, 3:26:55. 35-39—Lindsaey Elste, Wheaton, Ill., 3:18:31. 40-44—Sadie Smith, St. Louis, 3:28:35. 45-49—Jennifer McClure, Royal Oak, Mich., 3:41:40. 50-54—Amy Taylor, Mulhall, Okla., 3:47:16. 55-59—Judi Hayashi, Andover, 3:58:56. 60-64—Carol Benight, Colorado Springs, Colo., 6:57:54. 65-69—Janet Holsaeter, Edmond, Okla., 4:35.17. 70-74—Sharon Lowman, Sedalia, Mo., 7:18:18.
Half-marathon
Men’s overall—1. Zouhair Talbi, Oklahoma City, 1:06:33; 2. Ben Martin, Wichita, 1:12:33; 3. Reed Rome, Hugoton, 1:12:46. 19-under—Cade Evans, Overland Park, 1:22:35. 20-24—Taisei Mattson, Wichita, 1:23:58. 25-29—Armando Rueda, Las Cruces, N.M., 1:13:10. 30-34—Addison Albin, Parkville, Mo., 1:13:04. 35-39—Jonathan Mason, Edmond, Okla., 1:19:23. 40-44—Justin Walker, Wichita, 1:21:38. 45-49—Kushal Gurung, Kansas City, 1:30:19. 50-54—Darren Martin, Wichita, 1:38:55. 55-59—Kenneth Gordon, Albuquerque, 1:31:09. 60-64—Bill Kiever, Woodstock, Ga., 1:43:17. 65-69—Steve Edwards, Wichita, 1:56:21. 70-74—Larry Smith, Parsons, 2:05:08.
Women’s overall—1. Kristen Comment, Kansas City, 1:28:39; 2. Megan Ballock, Eudora, 1:30:59; 3. Terri Cassel, Tulsa, 1:33:57. 19-under—Grace Flaming, Benton, 2:31:45. 20-24—Madeline Weaver, Wichita, 1:53:12. 25-29—Kimberly Friedrichs, Wichita, 1:41:11. 30-34—Sasha Kuchinski, Derby, 1:40:27. 35-39—Janelle Grant, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 1:48:39. 40-44—Tanya Molleker, Valley Center, 1:43:20. 45-49—Julie Wilson, Edmond, Okla., 1:56:35. 50-54—Helen Cartwright, Wichita, 1:47:24. 55-59—Debra Carlson, Edmond, Okla., 1:44:33. 60-64—Mary Hammer, Edmond, Okla., 1:59:31. 65-69—Marie Hampton, Wichita, 2:10:00. 70-74—Wanda Sanders, Lavaca, Ark., 4:02:59.
5-kilometer
Men’s overall—1. Nathan Wickoren, Wichita, 15:07; 2. Julio Martinez, Newton, 17:17; 3. Will Meyer, Wichita, 18:12. Women’s overall—1. Abigail Colleran, Wichita, 22:14; 2. Katie Jackson, Ponca City, Okla., 22:23; 3. Bryli Christians, Goddard, 22:37.
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
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