Ash finishes marathon 77th

Published 12:06 am Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Atmore native Alan Ash finished in 77th place of the 2017 Boston Marathon.

He crossed finish line of the 26.2-mile race with an official time of 2 hours, 32.25 minutes.

Ash had a mile pace of 5:49. In the male category, he finished 68th and as the 44th U.S. male.

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Last year, Ash finished 39th overall and the 15th U.S. male under Olympic year conditions.

“Overall, I was pleased, but I was aiming for a faster time,” Ash said Tuesday. “It was a little bit warmer than expected.”

Ash said the weather was in the upper 60s and lower 70s throughout the race, which isn’t the most optimal racing weather. He said he started suffering from abdominal cramps between miles 10-13.

“I had to readjust my goal and refocused from there,” he said. “God just strengthened me and I wanted to give Him the glory.”

Ash said with it not being an Olympic year for the race, he was focused on his time goal.

“I was happy to finish in the top 100,” he said. “This was the first time I’ve felt like I’ve done the training to do that.”

Ash his finish qualifies him for next year’s race, which will be his fifth.

Ash said his mother, Dale, met him at mile 24, and she reminded him of one of his favorite passages from the Bible: Philippians 4:13.

And this race was pretty special because his first Boston Marathon was also the day after Easter.