A Pittsburgh woman wins first prize in the Pittsburgh Marathon

Dick’s Sporting Goods’ 15th Annual Pittsburgh Marathon was a day of remarkable stories of personal triumph and pure determination as thousands of runners crossed the finish line Sunday morning.

Margo Malone, from Pittsburgh, finished first in the women’s section of the marathon with a final time of 2:41:56. Malone grew up in North Hills. Her running career began at St. Teresa’s with her mother as her first coach. She was crying as she hugged her sister after crossing the finish line.

“My mom passed away two years ago, so being out here for her meant the world,” Mallon said. “And I think she’s going to be happy today and very proud of the Pittsburgh community and very happy for all the support.”

It was also a family affair for the men’s number one finisher, Tyler McCandless. McCandless is a native of Pennsylvania, who grew up across from the Keystone State. The Penn State grad was greeted at the finish line by his wife and their two young sons, Jack, 1, and Levi, 3.

Reporter Lily Coleman spoke to Malone and McCandless right after they finished first in their races Sunday morning. Watch in the video player above.

Levi did the kids’ marathon [yesterday] “From start to finish, from the 5K to the kids’ race to the marathon, there was an amazing atmosphere to the event,” said the proud dad before adding.

The course was lined with spectators throughout the day and many were making their way out onto the streets around 5 Sunday morning. Many fans held banners and cheered as they hoped to bring some energy and vitality to the competing athletes.

“Pittsburgh is electric, and it has power,” said Bruce Newman, a handcyclist who competes on behalf of the Paralyzed Veterans Racing Group.

“A lot of us, we’re Type A personalities,” Newman said. “We’ve had a life change, and it helps us transition into that and gives us something to do. I was an avid runner before the military and this replaces that.”

Newman finished third in the hand-cycled division of the marathon. He says the Pittsburgh Marathon is a race he always looks forward to.

“The track has hills and a lot of turns. This is one of the best courses on the track,” Newman said.

Wesley Kipto, the men’s first-place finisher in the half marathon, is already planning to return next year. During Sunday’s race, Kiptoo broke the track record, which he set last year, for the fastest half-marathon time. He finished this year’s race with a time of 01:01:21.

“I’ll come back next year and do the same,” said Kipto, smiling. “Pittsburgh is like home to me now.”