MOLINE, Illinois — Whether you are looking to leave the competition in the dust or enjoy a nice, morning walk with friends, the Quad Cities Marathon has something for everyone.
Thousands of runners lined up outside of Vibrant Arena in Moline to participate in this year's event. Five different races took place: 5K, 10K, half-marathon, full marathon and marathon team relay.
"[Running in my team's relay] will help me to get inspired to run more races," explained Yarkiza Monzier, one of five women in her crew under John Deere. "I'm thinking after this race, I'm going to be progressing to bigger races. Instead of just doing relays, I'll do a whole marathon or half marathon soon."
Sunday's runners were prepared for it to rain during their race, but they only saw a few drops here and there. Instead, they got a whole lot of humidity.
However, the moisture didn't slow down Rachel Webster, winner of the women's 5K, as she hopes to build off her performance and take another medal in April.
"I've actually been planning to do the Boston Marathon this spring," Webster shared. "I've already been training for that, and I plan to do a few races [until then]."
The crowd deserves their flowers for faithfully standing their ground, supporting friends and loved ones who've spent months training for their big day.
"It's good to have people out there that you know are on your team and supporting you," said Carly Kupersmith, another marathon relay runner.
Out of breath and drenched in sweat, there's only one thing on runners' minds when they cross the finish line.
"[Relaxation and] football," added Kupersmith.
Kenyan Abraham Kipkemei took home first place in the men's full marathon race. Lenah Jerotich, also from Kenya, took home first place in the women's full marathon.
Jaime Marcos from Champaign, Illinois and Gabby Skopec from Coralville, Iowa took home first place in the half marathon races. Results for the other races can be found here.