Participation in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon surged by more than 15 percent today for its 30th anniversary, with Northeast Ohio runners among the top finishers in nearly every category.

The men full marathon was a neck-to-neck competition for nearly 13 miles with Brian McNeil of Charlotte, NC pulling ahead of second place finisher, Gerado Avilla of Flushing, Mich. around mile 23. McNeil, 23, completed the 26.2 mile race, which has been named one of the fastest marathons in the country based on median times, with a time of 2:31:06. Avilla, 32, a Purple Heart recipient and active duty soldier stationed in New York, was injured in 2004 in Iraq. He finished in 2:32:19. The men full marathon third place finisher was Gregory Byrnes, 23, of Pittsburgh with a 2:36:07 finish.

The top three women full marathon prize winners each set a personal record with their finishes today. Claudia Colita, 29, from Romania took first prize in the women full marathon with a finishing time of 2:48:41. Laura Brosius, 22, of Saline, Michigan claimed second place with a 3:03:43 time. Stow, Ohio native, Cindy Kasper, 33, claimed third place this year, one place higher than her 2006 finish, with a 3:05:05 time.

The increasingly popular half marathon, which is in its third year at the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, was dominated by Ohio runners. The top six male and top four female finishers were all Ohio residents. Derrick Butler, 26, of Cincinnati set a course record with a finishing time of 1:07:54. Fred Keiser, 36, of Cleveland who was the 2005 marathon winner, claimed second in today
13.1 mile race with a finishing time of 1:09:18. Third place in the men half marathon, Ryan Hochstetler, 25, of Wooster, finished in 1:10:23.

Anjanette Arabian, 33, of Rocky River, finished first in the women's half marathon at 1:21:58. Eva Miller, 27, of Hudson, placed second with second with a time of 1:25:07. Third place was claimed by Tracy Meder, 27, from Stow, with a 1:26:44 finishing time.

Official results for the 10K race are not available because an undetermined number of runners ran off the official course. Race officials will attempt to determine the number of runners who ran off course and plan to extend prize money to top finishers affected by the error.

The lead race car was diverted off the 10K course at the two-mile mark when police blocked the entrance to the Shoreway at West Third Street and Lakeside Avenue, causing 200 to 300 runners -- including the elite men and women -- to run anywhere from 800 yards to 2.7 miles extra while in the Flats.

"We are thoroughly embarrassed and extremely sorry that this happened," said Jack Staph, executive director of the race. "It's our responsibility to keep people on course, and we didn't do that. I'm just sick about this."

As of Sunday morning, 9,077 participants were registered to run, walk, or wheel in one of the three races that were part of the 30th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.

Pictures and more to be listed later on: www.runohio.com

30th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon
Cleveland, OH, Sunday, May 20, 2007

MEN
1) Brian McNeil (NC), 2:31:06, $1000
2) Gerado Avilla (MI), 2:32:19, $500
3) Gregory Byrnes (PA), 2:36:07, $300
4) Ray Appenheimer (OH), 2:36:54, $200
5) Jeff Snider (OH), 2:37:56, $100

WOMEN
1) Claudia Colita (ROM), 2:48:41, $1000
2) Laura Brosius (MI), 3:03:43, $500
3) Cindy Kasper (OH), 3:05:05, $300
4) Anna McClaugherty (OH), 3:06:57, $200
5) Tricia Brau (OH), 3:08:58, $100

Half Marathon

MEN
Derrick Butler 01:07:54
Fred Kieser 01:09:18
Ryan Hochstetler 01:10:23
Dustin Whitehair 01:12:57
Matthew Paullin 01:13:12

WOMEN
Anjanette Arabian 01:21:58
Eva Miller Hudson 01:25:07
Tracy Meder 01:26:44
Jill Aron 01:27:30
Melanie Lenk 01:28:02

10K (6.7 plus miles)

MEN

George Misoi 00:33:24
Vincent Kiplagat 00:33:24
Philip Koech 00:33:30
Isaac Arusei 00:34:04
Richard Kemeli 00:34:50
WOMEN

Nancy Citriglia 00:43:13
Kathryn Sarkonis 00:43:41
Anna Gaethe 00:43:45
Karen McKeehan 00:44:22
Caroline Spisak 00:44:28

Full race results are available on the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Web site at www.clevelandmarathon.co m