Ben Bruce and Anne Flower win the 2023 Big Sur Marathon
CARMEL, Calif. (KION-TV)- Runners of all ages woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning to conquer the 2023 Big Sur Marathon.
Windy and overcast conditions challenged runners from north over Hurricane Point and across the Bixby Bridge.
40-year-old Ben Bruce of Flagstaff, Ariz, won the men's and overall marathon title with a time of 2:36:59. Coming in second was 23-year-old Sean Casey of Pensicola, FL with a time of 2:37:45. Casey ran for the Naval Academy's Men's Track and Field Team from 2018-2022. Pacific Grove native and five-time Big Sur Marathon Champion Adam Roach finished in third with a time of 2:38:26.
Bruce was part of the Boston 2 Big Sur category which had 300 runners who had just completed the Boston Marathon on April 17. He shared that conditions were difficult to run in but saw a welcoming sight when he crossed the finish line.
“I was very relieved to see the finish and as an added bonus, my 18 weeks pregnant wife Steph was holding the finish tape," Bruce said after the race.
In the women's division, it was the Anne Flower show again as she successfully defended her title. The 33-year-old from Covington, Kentucky broke the tape at the finish line in 2:55:58, which was 10 minutes off last year’s time. Finishing in second was 43-year-old Sarah Bay of Niwot, CO who had a time of 3:05:14. Finishing in third was 28-year-old Sarah Johnson of Portland, OR who finished with a time of 03:08:30.
Flower becomes the third female runner and sixth overall runner to win back to back Big Sur Marathon races.
The Big Sur International Marathon weekend featured a range of other race distances, including the relay, 21-Miler, 11-Miler, 12K, and 5K with a total of nearly 10,000 participants competing in those events.
