Langat, Cherobon repeat as winners of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Over 35,000 participants braved gusty winds and cool temperatures to compete in the 34th running of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Saturday morning, in downtown Indianapolis.

Kenyan Festus Langat, who now lives in West Chester, Pennsylvnia, won the 2010 Mini-Marathon with a time of 01:02:50. Langat described the difficulty the runners faced with the wind saying that it took extra work in the early part of the race.

"Today was very difficult...it was very cold and the wind is very strong," Langat said moments after crossing the finish line.

Meanwhile, Janet Cherobon of Rome, Georgia, won the women’s race for the fourth year in a row with a time of 01:10:57. She beat her 2009 Mini time despite the strong headwind.

"I have worked so hard for this, and it's just a great accomplishment for me...to have four in a row," Cherobon said after the race.

The first Hoosier across the line was Stephen Hass with a time of 1:04:19. The first Hoosier woman across the line was Nicole Fisher of Beech Grove with a time of 1:15:19.

Chad Johnson was the winner in the wheelchair division race.  In all, 35,000 runners braved gusty winds and cool temperatures to take part in the 34th running of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

The runners began lining up early Saturday morning for the 13.1 mile race; but the wind began causing problems just after Midnight Saturday. Race workers tell 24-hour News 8 that several banners were blown over or knocked down by the gusting winds.

The winds were gusting 20-30 mph at race time, creating an issue for some runners as they started into a headwind.

The Mini-Marathon gained its fame by taking runners through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where gusty winds were blamed for delaying the 500 Festival balloon race. The wind, however, was at the runners' backs as they left the speedway on their way to the finish line.

In 2010 runners’ time will be tracked using RFID tags in their race bibs. In years past, runners had to secure a timing tag to their shoe.

Each year the Mini-Marathon sells out months before the event. Registration for the 2011 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on May 7, 2011 is now underway.