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McNeiece turns training run into first marathon victory 11:46 AM Tue, Oct 17, 2006 | Permalink Carolyn Thornton    Email

He instead turned it into his first marathon victory, hitting the tape in a winning time of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 7 seconds - a personal best by nearly 2 minutes for McNeiece, who has now run six marathons.

``I'm kind of a middle-of-the-packer, so this was pretty cool for me because I didn't think I'd ever win a marathon,'' he said. ``It was beautiful up there. All the foliage was out. It was very hilly, but it was a beautiful course. We had a great day.''

The 34-year-old, who competes for the Narragansett Running Association, was in 10th place at the halfway point of the Bristol, N.H. race around Newfound Lake, with fellow running club member Mike Tammaro by his side.

Still feeling pretty good and seeing that the leaders were still within reach, McNeiece decided he'd see if he could catch a few of them and go after some prize money.

He gradually gained ground over the last 13.1 miles, picking off runners one by one along the way. In the last mile, he caught leader Paul Young, 41, of Andover, Mass. - who McNeiece said was ``super nice'' despite the fact that he had spoiled his chance at a win - and went on to establish a 24-second margin of victory.

``It was kind of weird,'' said McNeiece, who is coached by friend Nick Jackson, a former standout middle-distance runner and then assistant coach at Providence College. ``The whole time I was so relaxed. We were just out for fun, and everything turned out so nice.

``I messed up my training run, though,'' he added with a laugh.

McNeiece's running roots began in Trumbull, Conn., where he was a standout in both cross country and track at Saint Joseph High School in the late 1990s. The owner of South County Fence Company, he is the husband of runner Tammy McNeiece and father of 8-year-old Emily and 6-year-old Shannon.

Meanwhile, Tammaro, also of Narragansett, moved up a few spots, as well, and placed eighth overall in 3:08:44 despite running his second marathon in just six days.

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