Brookfield Runner Takes Third in Marathon

Updated (1:18 p.m.) — Brookfield runner Marek Kotrly finished third in Sunday's 31st annual Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon, scoring his personal best time in his 20th marathon.

Kotrly crossed the finish line with a time of 2:35:24, following Nick Szczech of Cudahy (2:22:17) and Ryan Meissen of Mukwonago (2:27:37). The course best for men is 2:14:09 set in 1981 by Steve Benson. 

"I couldn't be more ecstatic," Kotrly told the Brookfield Patch.

"Holding back and keeping things under control the first half of the race was key," he said, "enabling me to run a faster second half and pass those along the way that started out too fast, a real mental boost. Nutrition and hydration is also key."

Kotrly's finish was nearly five minutes faster than his in April at 2:40:10. His wife, Lori Kotrly, ran Sunday's Milwaukee marathon in 3:36:19 — her third marathon and just nine months after she give birth to the couple's youngest child.

Marek Kotrly credited his coach Matt Thull at Thunderdome Running and 20 weeks of "hard training leading up to this race, with consistent 80- to 90-mile weeks.

"It was a beautiful day for a marathon," he added. "Perfect weather conditions and a very well organized marathon that does things right."

Here's a list of all of Sunday's marathon results, searchable by runners' names or cities.

Also in Sunday's event, 62 runners set a Guinness World Record by tethering themselves together while running the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes. They raised $108,000 for medical rehabilitation for Jenny Crain, an elite Milwaukee runner hit by a car in 2007 while training for Olympic trials. 

Among those helping raise the funds for Crain in the "Jennipede" World Record event were JeanMarie Wenzel of Brookfield and Gerard Bodalski of Elm Grove.

In all, 44 Brookfield residents and seven Elm Grove in Sunday's marathon.