Richmond Marathon 2014 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

Colorado resident Ben Zywicki crossed the finish line first to win the Anthem Richmond Marathon with a time of 2:18:35. Waynishet Abebe of Ethiopia won the women's race in 2:39:26.

It was a cool day for running in the capital of Virginia, with temperatures only reaching the 40s. Yet the race that's been dubbed "America's Friendliest Marathon" went off without a hitch, despite a record number of entries.

The marathon's official site noted the record was smashed back in October, with over 6,100 runners signing up for the event. There were also more than 9,200 runners signed up for the half-marathon by that point.

Here's a complete look at those who overcame the cold weather and crowded field to finish high on the leaderboard, via RaceIt.com:

Rank	Men	Time	Women	Time
1	Ben Zywicki	2:18:35	Waynishet Abebe	2:39:26
2	Hillary Too	2:18:45	Mahlet Melese	2:39:52
3	Kennedy Kemei	2:22:13	Meagan Nedlo	2:40:48
4	Tilahun Manesho	2:25:06	Ruth Kimutai	2:45:06
5	Mark Foster	2:32:38	Carolyn Shaw	2:56:31

Coming into the race, there was plenty of attention paid to Sammy Too and Kennedy Kemei, winners in 2013 and 2011, respectively. But one of the event coordinators, Thom Suddeth, told The Associated Press (via the Richmond Times-Dispatch) that Zywicki was a name to keep in mind:

"

"It could be a very interesting race," Suddeth said. Too and Kemei "will push the pace. They'll push each other. But sometimes if you push too hard and lose your rhythm, you falter late."

Should that happen, Suddeth said, "it could be like Final Jeopardy on TV — when the leaders bet too much and lose and the third person wins."

"

The runner from Colorado lived up to the sleeper hype. It was an impressive effort considering the conditions, as he pulled away late to secure the win.

SportsBackers passed along a photo on Instagram as he crossed the fine line:

The Richmond Times-Dispatch provided a picture of the busy course:

As for Abebe, her time of just under two hours and 40 minutes was a strong improvement over her win in Buffalo back in May. The Buffalo Marathon noted that result:

Zywicki ended up finishing around five minutes off the race's record pace, which was set by the aforementioned Kemei three years ago. Abebe was about eight minutes off the women's mark set by Irina Suvorova back in 2000.

Although the weather may not have been as friendly as the organizers hoped, it was another successful day for America's Friendliest Marathon in Richmond.