Frawley wins in first marathon

RUNNING
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Jerry Frawley is undefeated in marathons.

     The former Monticello High School and Wartburg College track and cross country star made the most of his first-ever marathon, winning the overall championship in the 43rd Omaha Marathon Sunday, Sept. 16.

     “It’s definitely a good feeling,” the 23-year-old Frawley said.

     Though Frawley won the race in 2 hours, 46 minutes, 26 seconds, beating former Wartburg teammate Kyle Read of Marion, by 11 minutes, it was anything but easy.

     “With the heat, my goal times were out the window,” Frawley said. “My goal was to go out there and survive.”

     At about the 22-mile mark on the 26.2-mile course, Frawley’s legs began to cramp up, forcing him to stop at times and change his gait other times.

     “For the last four miles I did a lot of walk-jogging,” he said. “It’s pretty scary when your legs aren’t working right.”

     It didn’t stop him, though from finishing first in a field of about 2,000 runners.

     Frawley said signing up for the marathon was “a bucket list thing.” He and several of his former Wartburg teammates discussed doing a marathon, and Omaha proved to be a central location.

     “We had a good fan base, and good support,” he said.

     Frawley started training for the marathon in May, two years after he graduated from Wartburg, where he was a two-time national qualifier in cross country and part of a distance medley relay team in track that earned All-America honors his junior year.

     He currently lives in West Des Moines, and is in graduate school at Grand View University in Des Moines. There, he is studying to get his master’s degree in sports management, and serving as an assistant coach for both the cross country and track teams at Grand View.

     Frawley said he will take a short break, then resume training to be part of a five-runner relay team for the Des Moines Marathon in October.

     After that, he said he wants to stick to shorter races, and continue his coaching career.

     “I want to coach collegiately,” he said.

     

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