Marion Marathon raises funds for Shoes for Kids

MARION - Bryan Morseman of Bath, N.Y., and Laura Gillette of Goshen, Ind., were thrilled with their wins Sunday at the third annual Marion Rotary Marathon for Shoes.

But not just for crossing the line first. Both also liked the idea of running for a cause,

'I'm a nurse and know the importance of fitness,” the 30-year-old Gillette said after finishing 3 hours, 18 minutes and 23 seconds. 'I like doing races that support good things.”

She has run 44 marathons and has won 24 of them.

Morseman, 29, was the overall winner in 2:38:24.

'It's nice to run and get something out of it, but also put something into it,” said Morseman, who has eight wins among his nine marathons. 'I've never done an Iowa marathon before. I run a lot, and figured ‘Why not?'”

Runners representing 29 states participated in the marathon, the ICAN marathon relay or the UICCU half marathon.

The marathon was created by the Marion-East Cedar Rapids Rotary Club to raises fund for Shoes for Kids, which provides adequate footwear for students who otherwise would not have any. Money raised helps health administrators in the Cedar Rapids area to buy shoes for their students.

Four-thousand pairs of shoes already have been donated to kids in Linn County. The money raised Sunday will only increase that number. With another successful year in the books, the Rotary Club volunteers look ahead to next year.

'Planning is continuous,” Rotary Club volunteer Nick Glew said. 'We finish one year, and immediately start working on the next.”

The North East Area Runners finished first among the relay teams with a time of 3:07:55. Tyler Jermann from Ames finished first in the half marathon in 1:14:26. Brooke Gambrall of Iowa City placed first for the women in 1:22:33.

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