LA SALLE COUNTY – Co-founder of the New York City Marathon Fred Lebow once said, “It doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”

That was the case for the almost 600 runners that participated in Saturday‘s 5K, half marathon – and the full, 26.2-mile Starved Rock Country Marathon – part of La Salle County’s day celebrating running.

The field consisted of 106 full marathon, 290 half marathon and 186 5K runners who crossed the finish line on Ottawa’s riverfront under temperatures in the low-70s and cloudy skies.

Regan Shipp, of Deer Grove, just south of Sterling/Rock Falls, covered the 26.2 miles from downtown Ottawa through Starved Rock State Park and back in 3:04.29.7 to claim the overall championship.

“This was my first time running in this marathon and it had been five years since I’d run in any marathon” said the 26-year-old Shipp, who is originally from Buda and was a standout runner at Bureau Valley High School. “I was looking for an event close to home that fit my schedule, and this was it.”

Shipp said in the past she had only ran three full marathons and twice that number of half marathons.

“The hills were a killer,” Shipp said. “All of the previous marathons I’ve ran in were actually on pretty flat terrain, so this was a challenge for me, especially with this being my first one in a while. I really like the fact that at a certain point we met up with the runners doing the half marathon because that way [the full marathon runners] weren’t just running by ourselves, and you have others that you can receive or share encouragement with.

“My goal was far from wanting to win, I just wanted to finish under three hours, which I was unfortunately unable to do. But I had a wonderful time and hopefully will be able to come back in the following years.”

David Daudelin from Vernon, NJ (3:09.37.4) was the first male to finish, placing second overall.

The top 10 behind Shipp and Daudelin in order included Louis Rodriguez III (3:12.04.4), MacArthur VanOudt (3:15.05.6), Eric Alexandres (3:18.08.2), Bradley Skeketa (3:21.39.7), L’y Feher (3:22.34.6), Jeremy Grootens (3:29.38.6), Zac Fennell (3:34.11.5) and Robert Gacki (3:34.26.5).

Ottawa’s Sean Manley was the male champion of the 13.1-mile half marathon, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:30:12.6. He said he’s entered around 30 half and three full marathons in his career, including every SRC Marathon.

“I maybe have been just inside the top 10 a couple times, but never close to the top,” said the 43-year-old Manley. “I feel like the weather was nice, a little wind coming at you that helped to cool you down, but not slow you down. I felt really good the entire race. I’m not running this to win, but I can say it’s pretty cool that I did.

“This is a well-ran event, and even though it’s somewhat in my backyard, that’s what keeps me signing up to run in it every year.”

For the second consecutive year, Ottawa’s Kim Foster (1:35:19.1) was the female champion of the half marathon, while also finishing eighth overall.

“I haven’t run in every [SCR marathon event], but that was because I was pregnant a couple of times,” Foster said with a laugh as her three young children gave her hugs. “I ran the full marathon a couple of years ago, but it was just something that was on my bucket list.

“I always tell myself, ‘This is going to be my last one.’ Last year I won, and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll go out on a high note.’ They released a discount code and for Christmas my husband and I felt like that was my sign to train again.

“I went into today with the mindset of ‘I’m just going to run and really enjoy myself, which I did, but I also think I may have run my best time ever.”

Finishing in the top 10 behind Manley were: David Thompson (1:30:37.9 3), Chase Owen (1:32:32.2 4), William Neumann (1:33:58.8), Joe Sues (1:34:13.5), Vicente Adame (1:34:25.2), Humberto Macias-De Leon (1:34:55.6), Don Kiesig, Jr. (1:36:39.0), Kurt Lodico (1:37:29.0) and Ben Saunders (1:38:26.7).

Placing in the top 10 after Foster were: Britta Strong (1:44:56.3 19), Eva Heimsoth (1:45:52.8), Christi Wilson (1:48:43.1), Natasha Porter (1:48:54.1), Abby Vladika (1:50:18.7), Emaleigh Morrissey (1:51:21.6), Caitlin Lair (1:51:31.7), Stephanie Gilbert (1:54:21.8 44), Emma Duncan (1:55:36.0 47) and Erica Barla (1:55:48.8).

A complete list of finishers and times can be found at racingexpectations.com.

In the day’s other race:

• Ottawa’s Lucas Farabaugh (19:38.3) finished first to win the Run Starved Rock Country 5K, with Marseilles’ Chad Kovash (19:44.2), Sheridan’s Ray Heriaud (20:53.9), Josiah Hortega (21:53.6) from Purcellville, Va., and Cornell’s Michael Boehle (22:54.6) — rounding out the top five.

• Streator’s Chloe Baker (22:49.1), Bloomington’s Kara Brand (24:38.4), Peru’s Melissa Trilikis (25:10.0), Streator’s Charlene Hamann (25:44.6) and Ottawa’s Kelly Shanley (26:24.8) were the 5K’s top five female finishers.