Two out of three: Tennessee man becomes third Myrtle Beach Marathon repeat winner
Matthew Leonard of Johnson City, Tennessee, on Saturday became the third man to double-dip in the 25-year history of the Myrtle Beach Marathon.
Leonard, who also won in 2020, joins Peter Cotland (2000, 2002) and Scott Colford (2003, 2004) as repeat winners of the 26.2-mile race.
Leonard’s time Saturday was more than four minutes shy of his 2020 winning time, and about 14 minutes off the course record of 2:26:24 set by Stuart Moran in 2012.
“It’s always nice when you win, or even if you don’t win and run well, it keeps me going,” Leonard said. “This is quite a bit slower [than 2020], but sometimes it’s just what you can get and you have to be happy with it.”
Leonard, a research specialist for a trauma center, was also the runner-up in his first Myrtle Beach race in 2016. This was his fourth entry, including last year, when he did not contend.
“I’m in a little better shape this year than last year, and of course the race was in May last year, so it was a lot warmer,” Leonard said. “. . . It was pretty nice today. I’ve always like the weather here and the wind is never too bad, and the course is really good.”
Jason Howe of Salt Lake City finished second, 21 seconds behind Leonard.
Leonard, 31, ran distance races at Missouri Valley College, an NAIA program, including his first marathon.
He has now won at least four of the 11 marathons he has entered.
“It’s becoming more of a hobby. This is my 11th race and I’m kind of winding down on my racing days,” he said. “So I’m just getting what I can get out of it while I have time. It feels really nice. It’s nice to know that my best days aren’t behind me. These days time isn’t as important as it used to be, just getting a win and knowing that your training paid off and you didn’t just waste your time”
He ran the Boston Marathon in 2017, and is looking at more of the big races. “I may do some of the other majors and try to get all of them in but I haven’t decided yet,” Leonard said.
The race had approximately 4,500 runners competing in full marathon, half marathon and 5-kilometer races.
Charlotte resident wins women’s race
A pair of former college roommates took the top two spots in the women’s race.
Megan Hepp Hovis, 40, of Charlotte, N.C., won the women’s race in a time of 2:56:29, which was nearly 5 minutes before Mary Klene, her former roommate at the University of New Hampshire who still resides in the New England state.
They were together for about half of the race before Hepp Hovis pulled away.
“It’s fun to have the police escort along the way,” Hepp Hovis said. “I didn’t know what the competition would be like so I was just going for time. Really I’ve just been training to get under 3 [minutes] at the age of 40, that was my goal. I’ve got to pick a new goal, now. Maybe just reunions every year.”
Hovis is a dietician, personal trainer and running coach with Upgrade Lifestyle, a company created and operated by four women.
She has won a handful of marathons, including two since the birth of her 8-year-old son. “I was a lot faster when I was younger,” Hovis said. “I had a kid, became a little slower and now I’m trying to come back as a master [runner] now.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
