Sun coverage: Baltimore Running Festival

Sun photo by Andre F. Chung

Russia's Ramilya Burangulova crosses the finish line in 2:40.20 to win the women's race.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

John Itati crosses the finish line to win the Baltimore Marathon with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 16 minutes, 24 seconds.

Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett

Looking as if her tank's nearly empty, Ramilya Burangulova approaches the finish line and the women's marathon title. Burangulova won in 2:42:00 for her second straight victory in the race.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Drew Schmitter of Odenton acknowledges the support of friends as she approaches Camden Yards during the half marathon at the Baltimore Running Festival.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Julius Keter of Kenya (left) runs alone along Fort Avenue around the 10th mile of the race. Keter won the marathon today with a time of 2:11.56 and broke the state marathon record of 2:13.46 set in 1977 by Garry Bjorklund.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Vincent Romeo watches the runners near the finish line of the Baltimore Running Festival as his daughter, Darlene Yenias of Perry Hall, rings a cow bell and cheers. Romeo, 87, ran his last Baltimore Marathon on his 64th birthday. He ran his last half marathon at age 82. They are waiting for Yenias' son, Stephen Yenias, to pass by.

Sun photo by Monica Lopossay

Men's winner Yirefu Birhanu crosses the finish line with a time of 2:16:26 in the 2006 Under Armour Baltimore Marathon.

Sun photo by Monica Lopossay

The Baltimore Running Festival kicked off with hundreds of runners participating in the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

"The hills were no problem because ... I am used to it," said Julius Keter, 19 (left). Tekeste Kebede (right) of Ethiopia took second place.

Sun photo by Christopher T. Assaf

Detective Tracy Harper offers a cheerful smile while performing Baltimore Running Festival traffic duty at Pratt and Light streets. Road closures had many motorists in the city stuck along the various races' routes.

Sun photo by Monica Lopossay

Maggie Shields (right) cheers on her father and brother, who were both running the 5K race. Maggie's mother, Wendy (back right) and sister, Zoe also root on the runners.

Sun photo by Andre F. Chung

Russia' Mikhail Minyukhin led the race early but couldn't hang on and ended up placing third.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Bert Rodriguez of Arlington, Va., is the first relay runner to cross the finish line during the seventh annual Baltimore Marathon.

Sun photo by Andre F. Chung

Kenyan John Itati leads countrymen Fred Getange (16), Wilson Komen (8), and Geoffrey Letting.

Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett

Runners race on St. Paul Street during the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday morning.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Early Baltimore Marathon pacesetters including eventual men's winner John Itati (6) approach the six-mile mark today on St. Paul Street.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Angela Bondura of Dundalk, stands along the course outside Camden Yards looking for her father, Matthew Bondura, who was among the participants in today's Baltimore Marathon.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Chris Brennan (left), 37, of Princeton, N.J., pushes his two sons, Ryan and Sean, as a pack of runners prepares to pass him early in the Baltimore Marathon.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Kristi Cutler (second from right) of Gaithersburg is emotional after finishing the Baltimore Marathon. Her friend, Kimberly Hall, and daughter Annie Kate Cutler, 9, are there to celebrate.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Runners take off at the start of the 2008 Baltimore Marathon. Julius Keter of Kenya, who won the race with a record time of 2:11.56, is on the right wearing a blue Nike shirt.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

David Swope, 41, of New Windsor goes up a hill on St. Paul St. while competing in the 2007 Baltimore Marathon.

Sun photo by Andre F. Chung

Men's winner John Itati of Kenya races to the finish line.

Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett

A runner passes under a bridge on St. Paul Street during the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday morning.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Ray Scharenbrock, 75, nears the finish line. He placed last in 6 hours, 59 minutes, 15 seconds.

Sun photo by Monica Lopossay

Runners in the Baltimore Marathon get closer to the finish line with each step.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Charles Powell II of Joppa, runs next to Remus Medley of Baltimore (center of running lane), as Medley flexes his muscles today during the Baltimore Running Festival. Powell and Medley were running the marathon, as spectators (left) and participants in the half-marathon waiting to start their event, cheer them on near the halfway point on Light Street.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Maria Portilla of Peru won the women's marathon with a time of 2:36.32.

Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett

Men;'s champion Mykola Antonenko of the Ukraine checks his time seconds before crossing the finish line during the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday morning. Antonenko finished the race in 2 hours, 15minutes and 40 seconds.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Frank Campion of Fanwood, N.J. cheers on runners who pass him at the six mile mark with a sign that drew comments from some of the runners in the Baltimore Marathon. He says he's heard "false advertising" and "that's so cruel." Campion is waiting for his nephew, Kevin Oberheim, who lives in Baltimore and is running in his first marathon.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Julius Keter of Kenya finished first in the Baltimore Marathon with a time of 2:11.56 that broke the previous record of 2:14.51 set in 2004 by John Itati, also of Kenya.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Sally McMahon of Glenelg watches the start of the 2007 Baltimore Marathon, the longest of the four races during the Baltimore Running Festival. McMahon was planning on running in the half marathon later in the day.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Maria Portilla of Peru heads to the finish line in first place of the women's marathon with a time of 2:36.32. "I started a little slowly because I felt a little tired," Portilla said. "After the half-mile point, I started to push hard. The course, I love it."

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Ray Scharenbrock has run 603 marathons, including races in all 50 states and Washington -- nine times over. His first marathon was in Duluth, Minn., in 1982.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Steve Daly of Crofton (sixth from left) positions himself with some of the elite runners before the start of the Baltimore Marathon. Daly finished 473rd overall. Gladys Asiba (53) won the women's race.

Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett

The lead group of men's runners heads north on McCulloh Street shortly after the start of the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday morning.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Chad Bartlett, 22, gets a kiss from his mother, Maggie, after finishing the Baltimore Marathon.

Sun photo by Andre F. Chung

Runners set their watches as the fourth annual Baltimore Marathon begins.

Sun photo by Kim Hairston

2007 Baltimore Marathon men's winner John Itati (left) hugs Gladys Asiba, winner of the women's race, as Carolyn Mather, a volunteer assisting the runners, looks on moments after Asiba crossed the finish line.