October 25, 2009

Washington, D.C.-Shawn Marek, the head cross country coach at Salem College, competed in the Marine Corps Marathon this past Sunday and finished 72nd out of 21,279 finishers. Marek was 19th out of 1,860  finishers in his age division, and finished in 2 hours and 50 minutes and 16 seconds. Marek now turns his attention to preparing his runners to compete in the Great South Athletic Conference's Cross Country Championships at LaGrange College on November 7th.

Marek averaged 6 minutes and 29 seconds per mile. There were over 10,000 spectators for the race, and several United States Marines were in attendance. He qualified for the Boston Marathon in their fastest time bracket by 20 minutes.  Marek will compete in the Boston Marathon in April.