All of the top finishers in the first Geist Half Marathon were from the Indianapolis area — most from Fishers or Geist!

An amazing 4,500 runners turned out for the race around the reservoir Saturday.

Geist Half Winner, Chris Swisher, is a Fishers resident and assistant cross country and track coach at Hamilton Southeastern High School. Although the slender, 6-foot-4 Swisher looks like a seasoned professional, this was his first half marathon race.

“I thought I could probably run one, but I didn’t know how fast,” said Swisher, who trains for shorter distances like the 5K.

Swisher finished the half marathon in just over an hour, coming in at 1:11:43. “Now I can retire,” he joked.

Swisher decided to run the Geist Half because it was a local race that benefited local kids. Hundreds of students from Hamilton Southeastern and Lawrence Township schools were participating.

“None of my students ever get to see me run,” Swisher said, adding, “Knowing all of this benefits the schools made me want to get out and run.”

Swisher wasn’t the only one from Hamilton Southeastern to finish at the top of the pack. His colleague Nick Bruckbauer, a volunteer assistant at HSE, took third place with a time of 1:16:35. His wife, Kaleena, finished second among the women, with a time of 1:29:22.

The Bruckbauers met as runners at Purdue and have been married less than two years. These “running partners for life” have now done four half marathons, including the 500 Festival Mini Marathon two weeks before the Geist Half. Nick logged his personal best time there with 1:15 but was only a minute behind that pace in Geist — which has many more hills.

Those hills had the second-place male finisher a little worried.

“All my training in Indianapolis has been very flat,” explained Scott Spitz, a Fountain Square resident who was running his first half marathon and finished with a time of 1:14:25. “Towards the end, I was feeling it,” he said.

The local terrain was no surprise for Cambridge resident Lisa Verona, who was the top female finisher, with a time of 1:28:43. A seasoned half-marathoner, Verona was excited to participate in this race, where the course ran right through her neighborhood!

“I live here, so I had to do this,” said Verona, who was running her third mini in five weeks.

Compared to other mini marathons she’s participated in, the first Geist Half Marathon was extremely well-organized, Verona said. She especially enjoyed the bands stationed throughout the course and the festive finish line area, complete with food and drinks and a massage station for runners.

“They put on a great race,” Verona said. “I was impressed.”

Another local runner, Rose Lehe of Indianapolis, rounded out the winner’s circle, taking third place with a time of 1:29:28.

  To see more photos from the day, view the Geist Half album on Flicker. Look for more stories from the marathon coming soon to atGeist.com!

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