Runners compete at Flower City Half Marathon and 5K

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — People raced through the streets of downtown on Sunday for the Rochester Regional Health Flower City Half Marathon and 5K.

The route took runners through city streets, historic areas, and scenic neighborhoods. Organizing a marathon like this is no easy feat.

“This preparation for an event this scale is absolutely huge,” said Ellen Brenner-Boutillier, owner of Fleet Feet & Yellowjacket Racing. “We use a lot of resources in the city to make sure people are safe along the entire course in addition to all the preparations of doing the course, making sure people have their amenities and along with the start and the finish line. So everything you see, there’s a lot of manual and hard labor that goes into it.”

Joseph Whelan of Webster was the winner of the half marathon for the men with a time 1:10:41. Sara Platek of Washington DC was the winner for the women with a time of 1:20:45.

For the 5K, the winner for the men was Nathan Micillo of Rochester with a time of 16:38. The winner for the women was Margaret Flaum with a time of 22:06. You can see the results here.

The half marathon started on the East Broad Street Bridge and snaked through the city before ending on Exchange Boulevard.