Wiley, Aubert Best at March Madness

The starting gun went off and the rain began on Sunday as the cultish March Madness Half Marathon in Cary wrote itself another chapter on the Chicago area running scene. This one featured wind and rain and some nice first-place performances by Rob Wiley, 35, of Gurnee, in 1:10:35.68, and Jacqui Aubert, 24, of Crystal Lake, in 1:24:50.22. Second and third on the men's side went to Archie Bareikis, 24, of Oak Forest, in 1:13:03.87, and Mac McCulley, 26, of Volo, in 1:13:36.00. Second and third women were Sanya Syrstad, 45, of Glen Ellyn, in 1:28:10.31, and Maria Cristi Homorozan, 36, of Chicago, in 1:28:57.65. A lot of people I know were racing. Hats off to all of you! I'd like to especially recognize new 80-year-old Bob Scott of Naperville, who ran a 2:23:29. That is absolutely awesome. Neither rain, wind, snow or anything else can stop this race. If you haven't done it, do it sometime. There were 1,038 finishers this year.