Men’s division winner Tyler Morse ran out front from the start of the race. Photo by Cierra Hitner
As the crowd roared Sunday morning at Hayward Field, Tyler Morse won the Eugene Marathon men’s division with a time of 2 hours, 20 minutes, 29 seconds.
Morse, running for Bowerman Track Club Elite, pulled ahead from the rest of the field within the first few miles of the race and finished with a 30-second margin of victory over second-place finisher Johnny Rutford.
“I kind of went for it at mile 18-23, felt like it was a good risk to take,” Morse said. “Kind of died a lot those last three miles, but then it was all just the homestretch from there.”
Despite not reaching his goal of reaching the Olympic trials standard, which is 2:18, Morse’s race strategy paid off, and his fitness proved to be strong enough to win.
“It feels good,” he said. “We’ll see how my legs feel tomorrow. Everyone out here is testing their limits you know.”
Morse’s win comes in his second marathon. His first was in 2019, and he set his personal best with a time of 2:19:36.
Morse ran collegiately for Illinois State before joining ASICS GTC Elite post college. His time at ASICS was be short lived. After working and running for a while at home, Morse relocated to Portland, Oregon to join Bowerman Track Club Elite.
Morse’s time at Bowerman Track Elite has helped him prepare for long distance races, and continue to become more acclimated with the Oregon running community. Morse hopes his success during his first time running in Eugene will help him achieve a bigger goal in his return to Hayward Field this June for USATF outdoor nationals.
Morse had no huge celebration planned but does plan to have some leisure time.
“Try to get some food, and I’ll probably just get some sort of drink just to get some carbs in,” he said. “Oh, and spend some time with my wife, who is also a runner.”
