Illinois man wins marathon after 2 leaders take wrong route
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois man unexpectedly won the Quad Cities Marathon this weekend when the two Kenyan runners who had far outpaced him were disqualified after being diverted off the course by a race volunteer bicyclist. The Quad-City Times reports that Tyler Pence crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 6 seconds to become the first U.S. runner since 2001 to win the race. The head track and cross-country coach at the University of Illinois-Springfield, Pence logged his fastest time ever with the win. It came after Elijah Mwangangi Saolo and Luke Kibet diverted from the course a little more than halfway to the finish line when the bicycle rider leading them mistakenly went straight when he should have turned.