Oct 22, 2007 Pat Lencioni - First Half Marathon Champion By Doug Kurtis

Pat Lencioni was no stranger to the marathon. In 1993, he finished sixth overall in his first Marathon (Detroit) and returned in ’98 to finish sixth. In 2004, he became the first Free Press Half Marathon’s winner. The distance seemed to be a good fit to his training as he approached the master’s category.

Originally from White Pine, MI in the western Upper Peninsula, Lencioni recalled the first edition of the half, “The neat thing was that it was my first time running over the Ambassador Bridge - a splendid view of the Detroit River/Skyline and Windsor.

While running over the bridge, an official race truck pulled up alongside and informed me that I was "the half marathon leader". Until then, I had thought there was someone ahead of me, but fortunately they were all running the full marathon. I think the coolest spot on the course is when you emerge from the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, because there is always a huge crowd of spectators to cheer you on! And of course finishing in Ford Field was pretty neat.”

“What I liked about the half marathon is that it allows you to experience many of the same focal points as the full marathon (i.e., Mexican Village, the Bridge and Windsor's river front and Tunnel, etc.). From a pure running perspective, it can be a good goal race for someone who can't put in the mileage to successfully compete in a full marathon.”

Lencioni has immensely enjoyed competing since high school. He ran for a small Class "D" high school, then at Michigan Tech where he still has the 800M record of 1:54.4 (1987). He made his biggest improvement after moving to Ann Arbor in the early 90's by training with elite runners. His personal bests include the 5K (14:36), 8K (24:39), 10mi (50:59), and Marathon 2:24:00. At age 35 he ran the 10K in 30:55 at the Hillsdale Relays.

Beginning in 2001, he worked in Germany for two years in and ran for running club TSG Eppstein outside of Frankfurt. Lencioni was the top local finisher in the 2002 Frankfurt Marathon. Last year he was 4th man on national champion, Front Line Racing team at the Club Cross-Country Nationals in San Francisco.

Since 1988, Lencioni has worked for GM’s Powertrain Transmission Group. His wife Ellen is also an avid runner, logging 30-35 miles a week. For the past three years he has served as a soccer coach for his eldest son and younger set of twins.

Lencioni has learned that running is appreciated everywhere that he has ever travelled. “Whether in Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Brazil, or Mexico, people in those countries have an immediate recognition of ability when you tell them your 10K or marathon PB. Presently, I enjoy the camaraderie of the Ann Arbor running community especially with the guys I meet at 5:30 am each morning.”