Outdoors: Running

MIDDLETOWN - Admittedly obsessed with running since taking up the sport two years ago, Nathan Echols says he just doesn't feel right if he's not "out doing something."

Two weeks ago, he was "out" winning the Tussey Mountain Bank 50-Miler in State College, Pa.

Three days ago, he was "out" doing a "fun" 25-mile hike with a friend.

And yesterday, the 39-year-old hiker-turned-ultra-distance-runner from Sparta, N.J., was "out" winning the marathon portion of the Breakers Marathon and Nifty 50 Ultra Race Weekend.

He secured his first marathon victory in 36 attempts with a time of 2 hours, 55 minutes and 27 seconds, a personal-best by more than 2 minutes.

"It's a good thing it was 26.2 miles. I wouldn't have won it if it were any longer," said Echols, who was followed across the finish line 30 seconds later by Tim Ives, 26, of Des Moines, Iowa.

Although more than 400 runners competing in both the marathon and accompanying 50-mile race -- Brad Smythe of Canton, N.C. (6:49.03) -- did not have to contend with the heavy rains that last year's field faced, they did encounter a pretty stiff wind on an otherwise gorgeous fall day. Fortunately for the runners, the wind wasn't always working against them, given that the course consists of a series of loops that begin and end at Gaudet Middle School.

Defending champion Danny Gough led the race through the first 21 miles before Echols overtook him as they made the climb up Hanging Rocks Road.

Once he had the lead, Echols said there was no way he was going to give it up.

"You just want to lie down in the grass and start crying, but you have to finish," he said. "(Ives) was catching me apparently, but when I got on the track, I had a half of a lap lead on him, so I knew he didn't have enough time to catch me. If it had been a 27-mile marathon, he might have caught me."

Although Gough was unable to defend his title, he did manage to take top Rhode Island honors with his fifth-place finish of 3:09:09.

The former Brown All-American and U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier says he was hampered for more than half the race with a painful cramp in his left calf that forced him to stop a couple of times so that he could massage it.

"I felt fine, but my calf still has a knot like a baseball," said Gough, adding that he had very little opportunity to train this year between managing his gym, Bridge to Fitness, and serving as the race organizer for the marathon. "As soon as I cramped up at mile 12, there was nothing I could do about it. I knew (Echols) was going to start catching me."

Yukiko Nishide was the first woman across the line, finishing 17th overall in 3:21:55.

The victory was a nice bonus for the 44-year-old nursery school teacher from Rye, N.Y., who said she was using the Breakers Marathon as part of her training for next month's ING New York City Marathon.

A member of the 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group, Nishide was also happy to be able to add Rhode Island to her list, bringing her state total to 33.

Maria Casas -- a native of Argentina, now living in Kingston, where she is a researcher at URI's graduate school of biological oceanography -- was the top Rhode Island woman, finishing sixth overall in 3:43:54.

"The course was very good," said Casas, 54, who was followed 10 seconds later by Mary Camire, 53, of Wakefield. "Except for the wind. That was hard."

TOP OVERALL FINISHERS

MEN -- 1, Nathan Echols, 2:55:27; 2, Tim Ives, 2:55:57; 3, Roger Scott, 2:57:27; 4, Kevin Rassier, 3:08:43; 5, Danny Gough, 3:09:09; 6, James Novack, 3:09:52; 7, Paul Prisloe, 3:09:57; 8, Brian Beausoleil, 3:13:47; 9, Bob Fargo, 3:16:09; 10, Euihwa Lee, 3:18:20.

WOMEN -- 1, Yukiko Nishide, 3:21:55; 2, Amy Yanni, 3:33:42; 3, Beverly Ameen 3:37:13; 4, Sylvia Travaglione, 3:38:54; 5, Julie Keevey, 3:39:20; 6, Maria Casas, 3:43:54; 7, Mary Camire, 3:44:04; 8, Cassandra Hauswald, 3:44:39; 9, Dianna Sulser, 3:47:19; 10, Susan Leigh, 3:50:35.

FIRST WHEELCHAIR -- Holly Koester, 3:48:51.