Even with a limited running schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas Madut won the Palace City Kiwanis Half Marathon.
The Mitchell resident has crossed the finish line first in all three years of the race’s existence, this time racing to a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 45 seconds. It was Madut’s second race since last year’s 13K event and his third since competing in the 2019 Boston Marathon.
Madut was scheduled to run a race in Fargo in May, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 and he ran a half marathon in Sioux Falls in September. Even though his schedule of three marathons per year, Madut was happy to be able to compete in the Palace City Half Marathon.
“With everything going on, I totally understand safety is first,” said Madut, former Dakota Wesleyan University All-American runner. “There is always a time for competition, but right now we just have to get through what we’ve got and that’s understandable.”
Madut, 35, conducted a sporadic workout regime amid uncertainty of race schedules this year. His time was still enough to win by 4 minutes, 30 seconds, topping Oakland, Iowa’s Brock Johnson in the 119-person field.
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“I just trained for the stuff I knew I was competing in,” Madut said. “... I was training off and on. If a race was going to be held, I was going to be ready. If I wasn’t going to race, I didn’t want to waste my time training, so I just trained off and on.”
Sioux Falls’ Emma Jans was the first female to cross the finish line and was third overall with a time of 1:29.52. Jans’ time was nearly 6 minutes faster than the next female finisher, Pierre’s Jessica Rumpca, who was seventh overall with a time of 1:36.44.
John Jackson, a 50-year-old from Sioux Falls, was fourth with a time of 1:30.06. Mitchell’s Carson Max placed fifth in 1:36.16, while fellow Mitchell resident Jeff Lee was sixth in 1:36.33. Brian Kampmann, also of Mitchell, was eighth (1:37.30). Allison Park, Pennsylvania natives Ronald Snyder and Whitney Angelini were ninth and 10th, respectively, crossing the finish line nearly in unison in 1:37.42.
Palace City Kiwanis Half Marathon
Sunday in Mitchell
Top-20 finishers: 1. Thomas Madut, Mitchell, 1:20.45; 2. Brock Johnson, Oakland, IA, 1:25.11; 3. Emma Jans, Sioux Falls, 1:29.52; 4. John Jackson, Sioux Falls, 1:30.06; 5. Carson Max, Mitchell, 1:36.16; 6. Jeff Lee, Mitchell, 1:36.33; 7. Jessica Rumpca, Pierre, 1:36.44; 8. Brian Kampmann, Mitchell, 1:37.30; 9. Ronald Snyder, Allison Park, PA, 1:37.42; 10. Whitney Angelini, Allison Park, PA, 1:37.42; 11. Brigitte Setness, Harrisburg, 1:38.47; 12. Keith Reiners, Mitchell, 1:38.59; 13. Jessie Kroupa, Kimball, 1:41.22; 14. Amy Tripp, Brandon, 1:42.45; 15. Marisa Wurth, Remsen, IA, 1:43.17; 16. Connie Kuyper, Stickney, 1:43.34; 17. Brian Laufenberg, Platteville, WI, 1:44.53; 18. Lisa Kolda, Sioux Falls, 1:45.48; 19. Bruce Pollard, Garretson, 1:46.49; 20. Kevin Holt, Mitchell, 1:47.38.
