Great 1st (and last?) marathon for Bender

Charlotte's strong showing at major recent U.S. marathons continued last weekend with one of the strongest of the fall: Ryan Bender, a pharmacist for Carolinas Medical Center, finished third overall at Sunday's Philadelphia Marathon with a time of 2:25:10.

It was the 27-year-old's first-ever marathon, and he walked away with $1,000 in prize money for his efforts. Nearly 9,000 runners -- including 30 others from the Charlotte region -- completed the race on a perfect running day (mid-40s, and partly sunny).

Bender, who ran track and cross country for Duquesne University in Pittsburgh earlier this decade, called his first 26.2 "a very humbling experience."

"The first 23-24 miles went smoothly, but I definitely hit the proverbial 'wall' during the final two miles and my pace slowed significantly," says Bender, who went to Indiana High School in Indiana, Pa., and has been running for about 18 years. But, "I was hoping to run about 5:30 pace and finish in the 2:25 range, so I was satisfied with how everything went."

As for the prize money, he says it's "a nice bonus and will help cover the cost of the trip up to Philadelphia and entry fee, but my main goal was just to finish my first marathon and be satisfied with how I ran."

Bender has raced occasionally in Charlotte during 2010. Among his other highlights this year: He won the Lungstrong 15K in Lake Norman last month, in 48 minutes flat; and the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon in April, in 1:09:48.

"I have spent many years running through high school and college, and this was the last distance I had yet to race," Bender says of the marathon. "Although running will always be a part of my life, the amount of training leading up to this race took a lot of time and sacrifice, so I do not plan on continuing at this level."

So no other marathons in the foreseeable future for Ryan Bender?

"No. ... I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but running has been such a high priority for a long time and I'm looking forward to switching my focus to something else. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. for morning runs and eating dinner at 9 p.m. gets old after awhile. My wife is a saint for putting up with all of the running!"

Here are the results for the other Charlotte runners who finished the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday:

Caleb Boyd, 28, Charlotte, 3:04:13
Theodore Frank, 46, Charlotte, 3:09:17
Gene Faller, 40, Salisbury, 3:09:17
Brian Donehoo, 42, Mooresville, 3:15:17
Daniel Fulco, 40, Charlotte, 3:21:24
Darren Zino, 39, Mooresville, 3:22:33
Joe Schlereth, 60, Pineville, 3:27:57
Julie Hartenbach, 24, Charlotte, 3:37:02
Eric Carlson, 33, Charlotte, 3:38:36
Dusti Jensen, 27, Charlotte, 3:38:38
Megan Parkinson, 27, Charlotte, 3:49:28
Sean Scott, 29, Charlotte, 3:49:34
Hilary Boutwell, 40, Matthews, 3:49:52
Richard Coughlin, 36, Charlotte, 3:52:33
Rob Hussey, 42, Waxhaw, 3:53:42
Tiffany Sandstrom, 28, Huntersville, 3:54:12
Siobhan Grant, 27, Charlotte, 3:58:46
Kyle Horgan, 35, Lake Wylie, 4:05:02
Joseph Bousaba, 23, Charlotte, 4:13:30
Maria Packard, 36, Charlotte, 4:15:34
Adam Brown, 40, Charlotte, 4:16:25
Petr Slivka, 21, Hickory, 4:23:06
Wendy Hussey, 40, Waxhaw, 4:27:34
Arthur Scott, 51, Mount Holly, 4:30:43
Richard Holmes, 34, Charlotte, 4:33:07
James Sharrett, 48, Mint Hill, 4:33:20
Garrett Deacon, 46, Charlotte, 5:05:57
Joanna Dougherty, 36, Charlotte, 5:08:48
Angie Hicks, 35, Waxhaw, 5:13:41
Cassandra Hale, 22, Gastonia, 5:22:48