Faulkner easily outruns field

By Scott Wright

Published: May 1, 2006

Golf isn't Jerry Faulkner's best sport, but it took a year on the St. Gregory University golf team for him to realize it.

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Running was just a method of staying in shape until his freshman year of college. Then it became a passion.

Six years later, Faulkner is the champion of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

The 24-year-old blew away the field by 10 minutes with a winning time of 2 hours, 36 minutes.

Billy Grona of Tulsa, was second at 2:46:55.

Passing up a college golf career seems to be working out for Faulkner, who won just the fourth marathon he's competed in.

"I found out I'm a lot better at running than I am at golf," he said.

The win was sweet for Faulkner, who led last year's OKC Marathon with less than a mile to go before dehydration overcame him.

"He learned how to drink fluids consistently," said Dr. Tom Coniglione, the medical director of the marathon and the man who treated Faulkner's dehydration a year ago. "Last year, he was laying on one of our tables and didn't know who he was."

Faulkner is an Edmond native. He now lives in Tulsa and works as a sales representative for Gatorade.

He was one of many running Sunday to honor a victim of the Oklahoma City bombing. He wore the name of Robbin Huff on his back. Huff, a friend of Faulkner's parents, was pregnant when she was killed in the Murrah Federal Building bombing.

"This year, I was keeping water in me and I was keeping my pace while I drank, which isn't easy," Faulkner said. "I'm glad to be a part of history at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

"This is a very big accomplishment in my running, and it's such a special event."

In the women's race, Sara Pizzocharro of Austin won for the second straight year by breaking her own OKC Marathon record time by three minutes.

Pizzocharro said she wanted to finish in under three hours, but she fought through cramps in her calf and foot to finish in 3:02.

In what might be a sign of the type of runners that the OKC Marathon is beginning to draw, Tracy Evans of Woodward beat her 2004 winning time by six minutes Sunday but finished fifth.

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