Pittsburgh Marathon 2016: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

Not even inclement weather could stop Kenya's Kipkoech Ruto or Ethiopia's Hailemaryam Ayantu Dakebo, as the pair navigated a wet course to win the 2016 Pittsburgh Marathon.

Precipitation late Saturday gave way to a mostly overcast morning Sunday, allowing the race to go off without a hitch. Ruto ran a little less than three minutes off his personal best to take home his first Pittsburgh Marathon win with a time of 2:17:26. That is the slowest number by a male winner in the event since Kassahun Kabiso in 2009.    

Place	Runner	Time
1	Kipkoech Ruto	2:17:26
2	Werkuhah Aboye Seyoum	2:18:41
3	Tyler Jermann	2:20:36
4	Tony Migliozzi	2:21:12
5	Birhanu Dare Kemal	2:21:34
6	Abu Kebede Diriba	2:22:03
7	Musa Ido	2:23:38
8	Jed Christiansen	2:24:21
9	Joseph Ancosky	2:27:26
10	Thomas Rammelkamp	2:35:08

Ruto is the second straight Kenyan and fourth in the last five years to win. He beat Werkuhah Aboye Seyoum of Ethiopia by a little more than one minute. Top-finishing American Tyler Jermann came in third place, followed by Pittsburgh representative Tony Migliozzi and Birhanu Dare Kemal. 

The marathon's Twitter account provided a shot of Ruto crossing the finish line:

Dakebo brought home her first Pittsburgh Marathon crown Sunday at the young age of 19. Her time of 2:39:19 was a little under seven minutes slower than Clara Santucci's winning time of a year ago. Santucci, who won the last two events, did not participate this year after competing in the Olympic trials in February.

She offered her support for the runners on Twitter:

Dakebo won with a lead of more than three minutes over Bizuwork Getahun Kasaye of Ethiopia. Phebe Ko was the top American in third place, followed by Kelsey Markham and Lindsey Ison. Joyce Swedish, 45, was the top-finishing Pittsburgh representative in seventh place.

Here is a shot of Dakebo and Ko finishing off their races:

Dakebo is the third Ethiopian winner in Pittsburgh Marathon history. In its eighth year since being revived—the race was not held from 2004 to 2008 due to lack of sponsorship—the Pittsburgh Marathon has the unfortunate distinction of being held so close to the race in Boston. The Presidents' Day race is a historic Boston tradition and one of the most populated elite races on the circuit; Pittsburgh tends to gravitate toward more secondary and younger competitors.

Place	Runner	Time
1	Hailemaryam Ayantu Dakebo	2:39:17
2	Bizuwork Getahun Kasaye	2:42:45
3	Phebe Ko	2:47:58
4	Kelsey Markham	2:55:02
5	Lindsey Ison	2:55:12
6	Monica Lucas	2:55:56
7	Mindy Sawtelle-Zottola	2:59:47
8	Jamie Demarco	3:02:27
9	Joyce Swedish	3:06:14
10	Jessica Klein	3:09:24

“It's really about managing the supply and demand to an effective platform,” race director Patrice Matamoros said, per Andrew Erickson of TribLive.com. “It really isn't our goal to be the biggest. It's about being the best.”

Matamoros has done an excellent job of expanding the race since taking over. It's done a nice job of navigating the difficulty of a Pittsburgh-based race and the Boston monster. While few were records set Sunday, a pair of first-time winners got to feel what it's like to break the tape.